Mass Effect: Melody from the Future
by RainthelingeringSentiment
Summary: Commander Rock "Kage" Shepard was a man with many regrets and dark secrets filling his heart. In his final moments at the crucible, all he wanted was one last chance to change his past and become the hero he believed he could be. He got his wish…But will going through the battle with Reapers once more change him into this hero? Or will the darkness claim him again? AU
1. Prologue

Rain: Hello everyone, Rain here and I'm here to introduce a new **_Mass Effect_** Fic. Sadly, my first fic, **_Mass Effect: Redemption of the Future_**, with as much potential that it had, was a flop so I decided to try again with this new fic. I hope you all enjoy it.

Jack: Read and Review Fuckheads!

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**_Story Name_**: Mass Effect: Melody from the Future

**_Genre:_** Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance and Drama

**_Ratings: _**T-M Rating

**_Pairings:_** Shepard/Tali'Zorah/? And many more.

**_Summary: _** Commander Rock "Kage" Shepard was a man with many regrets and dark secrets filling his heart. In his final moments at the crucible, all he wanted was one last chance to change his past and become the hero he believed he could be. He got his wish…But will going through the battle with Reapers once more change him into this hero? Or will the shadows claim him again? AU

**_Disclaimer: _**Do not own.

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**_Mass Effect: Melody from the Future_**

**_Prologue_**

Tired.

Broken.

Defeated.

These are the words Rock "Kage" Shepard could describe himself as he sat beside the now deceased Admiral David Anderson, who had the dignity to smile in his last moments.

To those that knew him, Shepard was a force to be reckoned with. His prowess in battle, his unwavering determination, his brutal honesty, his cunning and his willingness to do anything to get the job done had given him the admiration of his peers as well as his commanding officers but as he sat there next to the dead Admiral, bleeding and tired, all he could think of was _'How did I end up like this?'_

Shepard looked at the deceased man by his side and instantly felt foolish for thinking what he thought. His friend...The one person who never betrayed him had died and here he was thinking of his own misfortunes.

"I guess I'm still the same as I was years ago in that regard…" He said to himself as he forced his tired body upright on the ground beneath him, achingly stepping towards the console where Hackett's voice came to life...How it did, he couldn't guess but at this moment in time, he didn't care.

"What can I do for you sir?" He asked tiredly, his legs feeling weaker with each step he took until he fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Shepard? Commander, are you still there?" Shepard groaned weakly as he forced himself to his knees and gasped out "What do you need me t-to do?"

No matter how beaten and broken he was, Shepard would never let himself give up, especially now that he was so damn close to ending this war between the galaxy and the Reapers. He had to see this through...Just one last time.

Hackett's voice was slowly fading out of the existence of Shepard's mind but he had thankfully heard what Hackett needed and forced himself to his feet but once more, his legs had given up and he fell once more but that didn't stop him...Instead, he dragged himself to console with every ounce of power he had left in his power but as he got to the console, he could feel that his limit was reached and like a fallen soldier, he laid in the spot he had crawled to, no longer bothering to move.

He could feel that his time had truly arrived as he laid there on the ground. There would be no Cerberus to bring him back, no one from his ship to find him and take him to Chakwas, nothing. "Ha...I figured I would die alone again..." He murmured tiredly as he slowly turned his body around to face the ceiling only to see the many stars above him.

He didn't know why but as he laid there, blood flowing from his various wounds, a small tear fell from his eye.

He was never a man that had felt guilt for anything that he has done in his life but as he laid there, bleeding out as slow as possible, he began to think of all that he did.

When he was a child, he had felt darkness creeping into his heart but he had tried to ignore it but when his family was torn apart by those filthy Batarians right before his young eyes, he felt the darkness take over his heart and he held on to it. When he became old enough, he enlisted into Marines, pledging that he would do anything in his power to protect those he loved but he was lying.

He loved nothing back then.

He lived for revenge for the fall of his colony at the hands of the Batarians.

Nothing else mattered to him but killing as many of those filthy creatures by his hands.

And he had finally gotten that chance.

_Standing there in the middle of a room filled with the bodies of batarians and marines alike was a man in black armor with a red strip going down the right arm of the armor, the blood of batarians falling down the black armor and in the man's right hand was a long blade with a black hilt and an obsidian colored blade that was also dripping with the blood of the fallen batarians._

_And finally, the man was missing his helmet, revealing the short black hair of the man which was matted onto his face by the blood of the slain and the man himself had a crazed, cruel smirk that was plastered on his face and with the one eye that was visible, it held rage._

_Pure rage._

He could remember the all that he had done on that mission. The countless lives he had sent to their deaths to get his revenge and at the time, he did not care for those he sent to die because he refused to let them win again. He refused to let these heartless monsters escape with their lives.

Because of his actions on that mission, he became the "Butcher of Torfan" and because of this action, his commanding officer was honorably discharged and disappeared, but Shepard did not care for his commanding officer. He had gotten the revenge he had craved for so long but he didn't know that this selfish, evil act would set him down the path of despair.

He was the answer to all the missions that had become…Problematic to the military and they knew he was cold, calculating and ruthless and the military knew he was one of the best.

All he knew was to get the job done at any cost necessary. It went so far that for a few years, he was paired with many more people like him and they became the Black-Ops group named "Legacy," but he found himself the sole survivor of a trap made by the people who he and his team were going to kill.

Cerberus…

It was after this mission where he was recruited on the Normandy and that is when his life changed for the better. All he had to do was extract the Prothean beacon but instead, this one mission sent him across the galaxy with aliens and humans alike to hunt down a Spectre named Saren and his synthetic allies, the Geth.

During this time, he kept himself at a distance to all that tried to get to know him.

This was a mission that was the utmost importance for not only himself to prove to the council that he was the better Spectre, but to himself that he could hunt down this man and kill him.

A lot of sacrifices were made which cost him the life of one his teammates but Shepard didn't feel remorse. He had a choice and he made it and that person carried out their final mission as they fled that god forsaken place.

In the end, he killed Saren not only once, but twice, once the Reaper known as Sovereign took over the Turian's body, with the help of a Krogan battle master and the Quarian girl.

But he didn't allow himself to celebrate this victory because a bigger battle awaited him on the horizon and it was something that got his blood burning red hot.

But as the years went on, Shepard could feel the darkness that had grown around his heart grow stronger, which was bad news to both his allies and enemies because after those bugs, the Collectors killed him and Cerberus resurrected him, he was itching for a fight.

He enlisted allies, old and new for their fight and even had the chance to kill the Shadow Broker himself but at the end of all of this, half of his team was dead and he was sitting in a jail cell…All because he made the choice no one would and stopped the Reapers from killing them all.

The only solace he could give was that once again, the Batarians felt his wrath.

Then Judgment day arrived.

They blackened the skies.

They slaughtered millions.

They were truly unstoppable and because of this, Shepard grew desperate and because of that, the darkness in his heart grew until he became as cold as the machines themselves. He murdered his friends, those who served with him in the past, whether by gun or his actions, he did not care. The Reapers had to be stopped and they were simply in his way.

Mordin, Samara, Wrex…He did what he had to do to save their universe and himself from death.

But there was two deaths that continued to haunt him.

Despite the darkness around his heart, there were two people that always bought light into him and the first name was Garrus Valkerian. When he first met him, he really could not stand the turian at all but by the end of their hunt for Saren, they had become friends. He even convinced the turian to become a Spectre.

Even when they reunited, their friendship had grown to unspeakable heights but when the raid on the Collector's base happened…Garrus died, taking a shot for him.

That was the first thing that set him further down his darkened path.

The second was the death of the woman he had fallen in love with…

Her name was Tali'Zorah vas Normandy….She, this shy little quarian had snuck her way into his heart through her laughter, her tears, her smile, her strength and her compassion but he refused to let her turn him. She was the best thing that had entered his life but despite this, he couldn't let her get close to him.

He was far too gone for her light and she saw firsthand at how far he had gone when he let her people be exterminated by the Geth. He could remember the screams, the wailing, the hits she delivered to him due to his choice and at the end, she took her own life by leaping at the bridge…

He didn't even try to save her.

He just let her fall to her death.

It was better that way.

She was too pure for this life filled with death and despair but despite knowing this, his heart broke when he saw her face. Her silvery eyes gazed into him as her black hair was freed from her veil as tears poured from her eyes, a frown filled with heartbreak.

And her last words had stuck with him.

_"I…I loved you…"_

And now as he sat there, staring at the stars before him, more tears fell from his eyes onto the blood beneath him. He had done so much evil in his lifetime and at the time, he was doing what he had to do but now, all he felt was guilt.

He wished that he could go back to change it all.

To change the deaths he had caused.

To change his ultimate destiny of dying alone.

To become something more than a gloried killer.

He wanted to be what Garrus was on Omega.

He wanted to be what Tali was to the Quarians.

He wanted to be something better…

He wanted to be the hero everyone had wanted…

But as he closed his eyes, he knew that there was no way he could be any of that.

_'I…wish I could go b-back to chan…'_

Shepard was unable to finish his thought because he had finally drifted into unconsciousness but as he did, He saw a child standing before him but it was an ethereal version of that boy he had let die as he was escaping Earth during the Reaper's attack.

_"This…This was quite the disappointment…"_ the being said while looking down at him before everything went black.

* * *

**_Eden Prime_**

Ashley took deep breaths as she stared at her kill before removing her right boot from its foot while saying, "I think that's all of them…" she then huffed and placed her shotgun on the back of her hip after giving it a slight pet before turning her head to the beacon, which was glowing an eerily green, much to her confusion.

"The beacon wasn't doing that when we dug it up," She murmured to herself as Kaidan walked up behind her and touched her shoulder, making her jump slightly.

"Oh, sorry about that," He murmured softly before looking at the beacon and saying "Whoa, a real Prothean Beacon right in front of our eyes!" Shepard let out a deep breath of relief after making the call to Joker to pick them up along with the beacon, enjoying the feeling of success he had for completing the mission.

He lost Richard Jenkins.

It wasn't a big loss to be honest.

The man had annoyed him greatly as he was in the ship and while his death shocked him, he honestly couldn't care less about his death but he would make sure his body was returned to his family with honor. He may have not liked the man but he was a Marine through and through and he respected that.

As Shepard slowly walked towards his team, he noticed that Ashley was eying the beacon but suddenly, he saw her body suddenly jerk forward, accompanied by her shriek of surprise and her panicked expression as she turned back to look at the male of her squad for help which Kaidan immediately grabbed for her arm but the pull was too strong so with a yell of panic, Ashley slid out from Kaidan's grasp and flew towards the beacon.

Thinking quickly, Shepard rushed forward, swerving past Kaidan and grabbed her by her arms and flung her to Kaidan, who caught her successfully but then Shepard found his own body flying backwards and then forcefully turned around by the beacon and just as he got close enough, his body was being lifted up.

Panic filled his veins as he struggled for a moment to break free of the invisible grasp this thing had on him but that's when he saw it.

With an emerald border around the edges of his eyes, Shepard saw that he was lying on a platform soaked with blood, tears pouring from his eyes as he began to take his final breaths but then, a small, light blue ethereal child appeared standing before him.

_"This…This was quite the disappointment…"_ the being said while looking down at Shepard's form.

The Shepard watching was confused.

What the hell was he watching?

_"This simply won't do…You got this far only to fall…I wanted a better outcome…"_ It was then the being placed a hand on the dying Shepard's chest while saying _"I think I know what to do…"_

The watching Shepard's eyes widened in shock as he watched the dying Shepard's body began to glow a bright green before it began to break away into particles that floated in the air and that was when Shepard saw something that shocked him.

He saw these large…metal squid like ships firing red beams of energy at a ship that looked a lot like the Normandy before causing it to exploded in a brilliant explosion, causing fear to shoot through his body but then when saw the green particles fly towards him at top speed.

He watched as green balls of energy came shooting towards him and before he could do anything, the orbs of light slammed into his body, causing sharp visions to fill his mind in such rapid succession, he couldn't keep up with even if he tried and to make it worse, each vision that filled his mind made the headache he now worse than ever before until finally, the beacon exploded in front of him, sending him flying backwards to the ground with a crash.

But as he laid there, drifting into unconsciousness, Shepard heard the voice of that strange being in his head, saying _"I have given you a second chance…Let us see how far you get this time…"_

And with that, it all went black. _

Rain: and with that, my story truly begins. What will happen once Shepard wakes up? Find out next time on….**_ Mass Effect: Melody from the Future_**

Jack: Fuckers better review this shit too…Or else…


	2. Chapter 1

Rain: Rain here and I want to thank everyone for reading, adding my story to their favorite's list and following my first chapter. I just hope you guys continue to enjoy it. Enjoy the show!

Jack: Review, Read and whatever the fuck is another R.

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**_Mass Effect: Melody from the Future_**

**_Chapter One_**

_"Where…Where am I?"_

_Shepard found himself floating in a sea of dark blue crystal water with little balls of light floating up from it with the sky above him colored midnight blue with tons of stars glittering the sky above. _

_This confused him._

_The last thing he remembered was staring at the stars in the crucible while slowly bleeding out and now he was in this place. How the hell did this happen?_

_Shepard leaned up from the water and looked around. _

_The entire place looked honestly beautiful with the sky reflecting from the water with tiny rainbow colored crystal shards floating from the water and into the sky towards the glowing moon above._

_The ground was a bright white that reminded him of the snow that used to fall on his colony but when he touched it, he was surprised that it was grass._

_Grunting, Shepard stood up and looked at the area he was in and for a moment, he felt at peace but he felt saddened as well._

_He didn't belong here at all...It was too beautiful and pure for someone like him to see its beauty…_

_"But where is here?" Shepard asked himself with a saddened tone in his voice._

_"This is our meeting place…Commander Shepard…"_

_Hearing the familiar but echoing voice come from behind him, Shepard swiftly turned around to see an ethereal silhouette of someone he had longed to see but was long gone by now._

_"Tali?" Shepard whispered softly as he reached out to the figure but to his surprise he stumbled and was sent flying straight through here and onto the ground and when he turned around, he saw that she was entirely ethereal and glowing a soft light blue with small, white sparkling orbs floating around her. _

_Shepard was taken aback from seeing Tali after all this time but now, he quickly realized that this wasn't Tali at all. This was something else entirely but he didn't feel nervous around this…thing._

_"But why am I here?" He asked the silhouette softly while keeping his gaze on it. _

_"Because I wanted to see the one I believe in," The being said as they sat beside him. Shepard's gaze fell on the silhouette next to him but to his surprise, instead of the ethereal Tali, it was an ethereal version of Garrus that was standing next to him this time._

_"But who are you?" Shepard asked the being before him, his eyes narrowing in confusion. _

_The silhouette merely chuckled before its gaze turned from Shepard to the moon above, a gentle smile forming on its face. "The one who gave you this second chance at life…" The figure told him gently, shocking Shepard immensely._

_ Second life? _

_What was this being talking about?_

_ Did this figure have something to do about how he ended up here?_

_"You're truly an interesting figure Rock," The being said to him, causing Shepard to blink in surprise._

_How'd this person know his first name?!_

_"When we first heard of you from our spies within the universe, we honestly thought nothing of you. You were a simple human not knowing your place…But when you killed our fellow reaper Nazara, which is admittedly our more…Reckless of Vanguards, we grew notice of you and that only rose when we saw you defeated our pawns, The Collectors as your species named them and then you were brazen enough to halt our arrival for a season."_

_The being then let a wry grin form on its face as it said "Even when we arrived, your tenacity continued to infuriate us. Many of our pawns and even a few of our own were struck down by you and your team…But imagine my surprise when I see that our enemy, the one being that we had begun to see as an legitimate threat was slain by someone other than our hands. It bothered us greatly."_

_"So you brought me back to life just to kill me yourselves?" Shepard asked, completely confused by their logic. The indoctrinated Illusive man was of their doing and had supplied his death and Harbinger had started his downfall when he took a beam of energy from the Reaper nearly at point blank range._

_The being chuckled at this and said "I have been around for millennia, watching as countless organics and synthetics were harvested to create the beings known as "Reapers" to solve an issue long created by my creator. But as I watched you, or I should say, processed your memories, I have seen you rally both organic beings and Synthetic beings under the united banner of war to fight against us, something no one in several cycles has ever done. I was curious to see how it all would turn out once you arrived but your life was lost…"_

_Shepard looked away with a troubled expression but he then asked, after a moment of silence "Why? It's obvious that you lead the Reapers…Why would you bring back the one person who seeks to destroy them?"_

_The being was now an ethereal form of Thane Krios, A Drell that he had met repeatedly throughout his life as a Marine. Both good meetings and bad and even became his teammate and a good friend before he passed merely chuckled and explained "I decided to return you to a different time, specifically when you was at a Beacon our recent harvested cycle, the "Protheans" your cycle called them because I believe you are the key to fully merging organics and synthetics together."_

_Shepard's head whipped towards The being, who was now shaped as an ethereal shadow of Ashley but it's body glowing a bright white which slowly enveloped the area._

_"Do not mistake this as an act of kindness…The Reapers will arrive and they will harvest as they are supposed to do…Only this time, you know of all that will happen to this universe and its inhabitants…and you will be the answer to my question and maybe even the catalyst of our defeat."_

_"Wait! This universe?!" Shepard asked in alarm. _

_The being merely smirked at this, something that looked more at home due to the fact that the being had taken the ethereal form of Joker, the pilot of the Normandy, Mark 1 and 2. "Even a machine like myself cannot bend space and time. The best I could do is send you to a universe similar to your own but be prepared. There will be differences but the threat is all the same." _

_At this point, the entire area was bright with white light but somehow, Shepard could see the small smile that was on the being's face, which to his horror, was an ethereal version of his deceased mother, Hannah Shepard._

_"This will be the last time we speak until the arrival of the reapers….For what it is worth….I believe you can be the key that unlocks the answers I seek…Until we meet again, Rock Shepard…" _

_And everything went white._

* * *

**_The Normandy_**

Shepard's body rose up from the bed with a sharp gasp, his short black hair sticking to his face, covering the small jagged scar that split his left eyebrow down the middle, his hazel eyes small and unfocused, his breathing shallow and quick. Slowly, his closed his right eye as his left one became half lidded, his right hand flying to his head, sweat dripping down his face.

With a gasp, Shepard rose up from his bed, breathing heavily as sweat poured down his face.

_'W-Where am I?'_ Shepard asked himself as he looked around the room he was currently in.

The room was a platinum blue color with several beds lined up against the wall with tons of medical equipment lined up against the walls. Shaking his head, Shepard got up on his two feet, which felt a lot lighter to him for some strange reason. Ignoring the intense headache, Shepard walked towards the mirror in the med-bay and took a look at himself and gasped in shock.

What he expected was his glowing, scar filled face and a large scar that went down from the topside of his right forehead to the middle of his right cheek but instead, he saw the face of a pale Japanese-Caucasian male that still had a boyish charm to it despite his age of twenty-five years old.

Touching his face with his right hand, he pulled at his skin and to his surprise, no lines filled with flames appeared and as he looked at his eyes, it wasn't a glowing ominous red.

Instead it was an ocean blue that actually startled him greatly.

He hadn't seen those eyes in such a long time that it actually unnerved him that he wouldn't be gazing into those red eyes he had gotten used to and even at a time, loved.

Before he could truly figure out where he was, he heard someone very familiar shout "Doctor Chakwas! He's awake!"

His eyes flashed to the form of Ashley's Williams but then his eyes flashed to the head doctor of the Normandy, Karin Chakwas' form, his chest rising slowly and his eyes focusing on her form. The last time he saw her, she had been assimilated at the Collector's base along with everyone that was kidnapped by them.

She was alive!

Wildly, his eyes shot back to Ashley, who was staring at him in concern and it was then he realized that she was alive as well. The last he saw of her was when he himself shot her in cold blood to get to that backstabbing Cerberus dog, Udina.

Slowly, elation filled his veins as the realization began to set it.

The being was telling the truth.

He was back!

Slowly, Shepard let out a joy filled laugh, surprising both Ashley and Chakwas greatly but he didn't care. He had gotten his second shot after all!

"You had us worried Shepard. How are you feeling?" Chakwas asked with concern filling her voice, causing Shepard to look at her with a small smile, that caused the two women to stare at him in surprise but his happy smile did cause Ashley to blush from it, something Shepard did not notice.

"So, how did I get here? What happened? How long was I out of it?" He then asked, the headache that he had forgotten about suddenly appearing after his joyous laugh, causing his eyes to wince a bit as he watched Chakwas move towards him with a worried frown on her face.

"You were out about Fifteen hours. Something happened down there to the Beacon I believe," Chakwas responded while she started to prod at his face, which caused him to wince in annoyance due to the light in her hand blinding him.

Despite his joy of her being alive, he still really did not like a lot of people in his personal space but it was her job so he needed to let it go for now.

"It was my fault Commander," Ashley suddenly spoke up, her head lowered in shame, causing him to look at her with a quirked brow. "I must've activated some security field when I touched it. You pushed me out of the way…You saved me…"

Shepard looked at her from the corner of his eyes and asked her "Where's the Beacon now? What happened to it?" before wincing when Chakwas shined a light into his other eye..

"The Beacon exploded…" Ashley answered. "A system overload maybe. The blast knocked you out cold. We all thought you would be out for a few days from the way you landed but looks like I was wrong…" She then looked back down to the ground, almost like a puppy who had been hit in the nose with a rolled up paper.

"Williams and Alenko carried you back to the ship," Chakwas interrupted with a small smile, her arms crossed under her breasts. Shepard's eyes gazed upon Ashley's form and gave a nod of gratitude along with a small smile, making her look down at the ground with a faint blush lighting her cheeks.

"Physically, you're fine," Chakwas continued, rolling her eyes lightly when he smiled up at the woman.

"But while you were resting, I detected some strange brain activity. Abnormal data waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement. Science usually associates it with intense dreaming. I also detected that your heart rate had increased to almost scary levels…Shepard…What did you see in your dream?"

Shepard's eyes gazed down at the ground in thought. "I don't know…What I saw…" Truth be told, he knew exactly what he saw before the being had come to speak to him but before he could say anything, a dark, ominous voice said** "Shepard…"** causing his eyes to widen as flashes of what he experienced before the being arrived appeared in his head, causing him to wince.

Had the nightmares that struck him during his previous life followed him here?

"I-I…Saw…Death…"

**"Assuming Direct Control…"**

"Destruction…"

**"You have been marked by us….You cannot hide Shepard…"**

"The end of all life…"

**"Ascension…"**

"Nothing's really clear though…" He finished lamely while looking at the ground in thought. He really hopes his dreams didn't follow him. He didn't need that shit striking him. He brushed back his hair back and stared at Chakwas, who was staring at him before saying "Don't worry about it, I'll be ok. Maybe a little rest was what I needed."

"Hm, regardless of that Shepard, I may have to add all of this to my report before I hand it to Captain Anderson then study you some mo-" Suddenly, the doors to the med-bay opened and with an air of command, Captain Anderson briskly walked inside of the med-bay with his hands connected behind his back, ignoring Ashley's presence for the time being, immediately asking Chakwas "How's our XO holding out down here?"

"He's doing fine. His readings are normal. I think the Commander will be fine," She answered her Captain with a small smile, causing him to smile as well.

"I'm glad to hear it. Thank you Doctor…Now Shepard…" His eyes flashed to Shepard's sitting down, a concerned look flashing across his eyes for a moment before changing to a cold look. "Can we speak…In private?"

Taking the hint, both Chakwas and Ashley left the room with the latter saying "Aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess hall if you need me," as well as giving him a salute, leaving the two males alone in the med-bay.

"Sounds like that Beacon hit you pretty hard Commander. Are you sure you're alright?"

As Shepard looked at the Captain, a vision of Anderson in a camouflage uniform sitting by his side, bleeding from the left side of his torso, a small gentle smile on his face as he passed away.

Shepard could only stare at the man before in surprise but then he stood up and gave him something that he had never given the man before.

A salute.

From the surprised look on the older man's face, He knew he was shocked to receive one but Shepard did not care. He was going to change things this time around and the first thing he was going to change was to not let this man die again.

"I'm doing ok Captain…A little banged up and disoriented but I will be ok," Shepard said with a small chuckle as he stopped his salute.

"That is good commander. I'm glad to hear that everything is alright but I am surprised. You'd usually question me if another crew member was added on our ship."

Shepard blinked at Anderson's words then he remembered Ashley. When she appeared on the Normandy in his timeline, he was annoyed as hell due to her pissing him off during the mission on Eden Prime but now, after knowing what a skilled solider she was, he wouldn't dare question it but just to keep Anderson from suspecting anything, Shepard did say "I just realized that Gunnery Chief Williams is onboard the Normandy sir…"

Anderson chuckled at this while he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I figured we could use a soldier like her so I reassigned her to the Normandy. Is this a problem Shepard?"

Shepard shook his head while saying "Not at all, I saw what the Gunnery Chief could do back on Eden Prime and despite not showing it, I was impressed by her actions. She kept fighting strong, despite losing her entire squad to the Geth…Williams is a good solider. She deserves being aligned with the most powerful ship in the Alliance,"

"Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you which is why I added her to our crew..." Anderson said with a nod and a small smile which then faded away when Shepard said "Intel really dropped the ball on this one. We had no idea what was to happen down there."

Anderson turned his head to Shepard and told him "The Geth hasn't been outside the Veil for two centuries Shepard. No one could have predicted this but I won't lie to you Shepard. Things look bad. With Nihlus dead and the Beacon destroyed and the Geth have appeared outside the veil and are invading, the council is going to want answers..."

"Why should we tell them?" Shepard asked with a small scowl on his face. "Knowing how they operate, They'll obviously think the mission failed due to the Alliance's incompetence instead of the faulty Intel that screwed us over and sent us to hell in back. I didn't do anything wrong," Shepard had never liked dealing with the council.

To him, they were a bunch of stuck people politicians that believed that just because they were in power, they could look down on everyone else, especially if they weren't the same species as them. Shepard believed in treating everyone fairly, even if it meant hating everyone equally and he didn't realize it until now that he would have to deal with their shit again!

Damn it!

"I'll stand behind you and your report Shepard. Despite Nihlus' death and the destroyed Beacon, You did good Shepard. You got your team out of there safe and sound as well as saving a few survivors...You're a damned hero in my books. I'm proud of you."

Shepard gave him a light smile that quite didn't reach his eyes. "Thank you sir but do we truly need to report to the Council about this?" Anderson nodded softly.

"I know you do not like the Council Shepard but they must know what's happened on Eden Prime, especially if Saren is responsible for all of this."

Shepard let a grunt and leaned back on the bed he was sitting on. "Saren...That's the name of that Turian that man had mentioned before he died. Who is he?" Shepard asked, staring at Anderson for an explanation.

"Saren is a Spectre. One of the best, a living legend but if he is truly working with the Geth, then that means he's gone rouge and a rouge Spectre is more dangerous than anything in the galaxy and what's worse is that he hates humans."

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"He thinks we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way but most don't do anything about it but Saren might be working with the Geth. I don't know how or why but I have a feeling that it was all because of that Beacon...Tell me Shepard, you were there before the Beacon was destroyed. Did you see anything? Anything at all?"

Shepard closed his eyes and thought about the visions that he had seen from the Beacon and then relayed them to the Captain who nodded his head as he listened but Shepard only told him what he had originally seen, not the visions he was currently having about his own crew.

He didn't know why but he knew that he had to keep it a secret for now.

Anderson let a soft sigh leave his lips when Shepard had finished and said "We need to report this to the Council Shepard..."

"And tell them what? I had a nightmare? Do you really think they would believe that?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know but whatever was in that Beacon, Saren took it. I know him Shepard; I know his reputation and his politics. He believes humans are a curse on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war. He has the secrets of the Beacon and an army of Geth under his command and he will not stop until he wipes every last human off the face of the galaxy."

"Then we need to find him and take him down for good," Shepard said with determination in his eyes which he knew from his past that would be snuffed out after his captain's next words.

"Its not that easy," Anderson told him. "Saren is a Spectre. He can go anywhere, almost do anything and with that's why we need the council on our side Shepard. I know you don't like it but it's the only way..."

"I know Captain..." Shepard replied faintly, clenching his fists. "I doubt they will help us because if Saren is a legend as you say, then they will try to back him up but it's the only option we have at the moment." And as much as he knew about Saren's guilt, he knew first hand that they would need proof of this.

Then a small smile formed on his face.

They would have the proof and he knew exactly who had it.

Anderson nodded at this and uncrossed his arms before saying "Good. I will contact Ambassador Udina to see if we can get an Audience with the Council. He'll probably want to meet with us the moment we land. We should be getting close. Head to the bride and tell Joker to get ready to bring us into dock."

Shepard gave the man another salute and watched him walk off but the moment he did, A marine Shepard didn't recognize marched up to him and said "Commander Shepard! You have someone wishing to speak to you!"

Shepard was confused and he voiced that confusion, asking "Who?"

The man blinked and said "Why Your sister, Roll Shepard, Captain of the Titan sir!"

Shepard blinked.

"What?!"

* * *

Rain: and that is where we will end it for now. What will happen next? Find out the only way you know how!

Jack: peace bitches!


	3. Chapter 2

Rain: Thanks again for all the great reviews. You guys are awesome but now it's time for Shepard to meet the first person that was not in his original (Canon) universe. Let's Rock and Roll!

Jack: *stares* I…Will…Refrain…from…cursing….DAMN IT!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Melody from the Future_**

**_Chapter Two_**

A sister.

Shepard had a sister…

In his universe, he knew for a fact his parents had died during his youth.

Hell, he even saw those damn Batarians bastards rip them apart so how were they alive?

"Uh…Sir?" The young Marine questioned. "Should I tell her you're busy?"

Shepard shook his head with a small frown then replied "No need. I will see to what my…_sister_ needs…" It was even stranger to say those words. Taking a small breath, Shepard asked for the marine to lead him to the phone and with a crisp salute, Shepard was lead to a large screen in the meeting room and there he could see her.

She had long black hair with a streak of dark blue in her hair, pale skin with three freckles on both cheeks, blue eyes that were brighter than the sky on earth and finally, she had on a black tank-top with the kanji for "Hero of the Blitz" on her shirt colored in white. He watched as her smile widened happily as she said _"Well look who finally shows his face. My little brother Rocky."_

Shepard narrowed his eyes.

He did not like that nickname.

"Don't call me that," Shepard told her with a cross of his arms, causing a laugh to leave her lips, eyes shining playfully.

_"Always the same reply when you say that to me,"_ She said while leaning back in her chair, lifting up a soda bottle to drink it. _"But it is good to see you little brother. It's been a few weeks since we last spoke, how was Eden Prime?"_

Shepard paused.

Was he and his sister close because he knew from past experience that he would never talk to anyone about his mission that wasn't his commanding officer but he decided that he would open up just bit, knowing this small step would start his change into a better man. "Lost a squad mate but gained a new one in his place."

There, that should be enough information to keep her curiosity sated at this moment.

Lucky for him, it was because she said _"Well, shit like that happens…Like right now, I'm down here in Omega trying to find some Cerberus assholes and some holes in the alliance. So far, I lost two good men to them but I refuse to lose anymore."_

"I certainly hope you get them Roll," He replied after staying silent for a moment. He should be worried that Miranda or Jacob is in her sights due to getting to know the two of them quite well during his time teaming up with Cerberus but at the same time, remembering the carnage they would later make when the Reapers arrive, he hoped she killed many of them.

He just had to hope Miranda or Jacob wouldn't get killed.

"But right now, we're heading towards the Citadel to report back to the council about my mission and truth be told, I'm not exactly thrilled…" Shepard told her, trying to hide the irritation from her but from the smirk on her face, he could tell she knew how annoyed he would be and he had good reason for that.

The council had always been against him since he accused then proved to them that Saren was a traitor and it only got worse from there and it pissed him off enough that when he had the chance to kill them, he practically had to stop himself from killing them but that didn't matter, did it? They still treated him like a sub-species.

It wasn't until the Reapers came and slaughter their races when they realized he was right all along but to go through all of that again was truly testing his patience. _"Hey Rocky…It'll be fine. Just try to get through it as best as you can and please…Don't do what you did to Barrett…They don't deserve that."_

Shepard blinked.

What the hell was she talking about?

Before he could ask, he watched as she suddenly said _"Now listen up, I have to go and suit up for my mission. When I'm done, I'll go straight there so we can meet up at the Citadel and drink a bit."_

Shepard merely smiled and nodded, sort of looking forward to knowing the woman who was suddenly pushed into the role of "sister". "I can't wait, Until then Roll," Shepard said before giving the captain of the Titan a salute, causing her to give a lazy one back before winking and with that, the screen clicked off.

So…So far so good.

He hopefully left a good impression on his sister and when they met, hopefully he could find out more about his past…If she knew that much.

_"We're approaching the mass relay heading towards Citadel Space. ETA, five minutes so everyone, please place your trays in the upright position, buckle those seatbelts and brace for instant travel. If not, please puke in the bathroom. I don't want to smell that from up here,"_ Joker's voice rang out over the intercom.

Shepard had closed his eyes to keep himself from rolling them due to Joker's words but merely chuckled and looked out the window as he neared the mass relay and while his thoughts were on meeting his sister but then he realized something.

He would be meeting his best friend and the love of his life when he arrived there as well.

And that thought truly made him smile.

* * *

**_The Citadel _**

"Well that turned out well…." Ashley murmured in annoyance as she and Kaidan followed their silent commander down the steps of the Presidium, the three marines' faces looking a little glum while Shepard's jaw was clenched and his hands balled into a tight fist.

Things actually turned out exactly how they went the first time. Shepard had truly hoped that they would have been something different about them in their universe but that was hoping for far too much…

"I know Ash, it's like they thought this was some joke. It isn't right," Kaidan added with a sigh before turning his head to the silent Shepard. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Shepard was furious from the meeting with the council.

The council had completely disregarded their story despite the four of them seeing and hearing what had happened first hand on Eden prime and not only that, the mocking tone in Saren's voice whenever he spoke had nearly made Shepard lose control.

"It was like they were protecting that asshole," Ashley murmured angrily while punching into her open palm.

Not that anyone could blame him.

"Maybe if that dock worker on Eden prime had survived, that would have made our case against Saren a little stronger…" Kaidan commented with his left arm propped on his right, his left fist resting on his chin in thought.

"Not really," Shepard responded almost immediately, stopping in his tracks, making his squad do the same. "Even if he lived, I'm sure the council would've disregarded his statements as well. Let's face it, Saren is their top Spectre and has his own race on the citadel...Who's backing him up and until we find some hard evidence of Saren's involvement with that damn massacre on Prime, He could no doubt walk away and continue his plans…"

And Shepard meant this. The last time he encountered this, the dock worker had lived and was immediately discredited as a witness due to him being shaken with fear.

"Well, ain't that a kick in the balls," Ashley commented with a wry smirk on her face, her hands planted on her hips before asking "Well, what do we do now?" before anyone could answer that, they were joined by Udina and Anderson, both wearing a scowl on their face.

"It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing Captain. You two have too much history. It made the council question our motives," Udina spoke with barely hidden contempt, his arms crossed in front of his chest, not noticing the squad's surprised look.

They had heard Saren comment to Anderson during the meeting but they hadn't known the two knew each other personally.

"I know Saren," Anderson responded defensively with a pensive look on his face. "He's working with the Geth for one reason, to exterminate the human race. Every colony is at risk. Every world we control is in danger, even earth isn't safe," he said with fire in his voice.

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" Kaidan asked with a quick salute to Anderson, who nodded in return. "How is it that you know Saren?"

Anderson sighed at Kaidan's question and merely responded with "I worked with him on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad...Real bad..." Shepard, who was listening in silence, knew there was more to this story but it wasn't his concern. He had heard it all before. No sense in listening to rehashed situations.

He put his thoughts to good use by thinking about what was going to happen next. He knew that Anderson and Udina would send them to Chora's den but would things play out the same as they did in his universe? He could only hope at this point because it would give him a better chance to change things but if things were too different, how could he change it to the outcome he found desirable?

"But I know that he's dangerous...And that he needs to be stopped before it's too late," Shepard zoned back in just as Anderson finished his speech and gave a small sigh. He wasn't going to get any answers waiting here. He needed some peace and quiet to think about his plan of actions and this wasn't the time nor the place.

"Well isn't this lovely..." Ashley muttered with annoyance before speaking up with "Well, what do we do now?"

"Due to his Spectre status, Saren's pretty much untouchable right now. We need to find a way a way to expose him but how? That is the issue we are all facing."

Suddenly, Shepard's head had snapped up with an idea in his head. He knew exactly the person they needed at the moment and with a small grin on his face, he said "What about that C-sec officer? Garrus Valkerian I believe. I briefly remember when we were coming here that he was talking to the Executor about his case on Saren. He may have been close to finding something out about him."

And like these messed up visions, he didn't know why he was feeling this way and it was slowly start to get to him.

"Hm...Then he's our best bet right now but how can we find him?" Kaidan asked with a scratch of his head.

"I believe I know just the source," Udina replied with an all knowing smirk on his old, worn face.

Anderson must have known who the Councilor was referring to because he let out an annoyed grunt and said "You mean Harkin, don't you? Don't bother; he's a sorry excuse of a C-sec officer who got caught drinking on the job. I wouldn't waste my time on that loser."

"That's good because I don't need you for this," Udina replied with a turn to the captain's direction, causing Shepard and his team to frown at this.

"Don't take this personally Captain Anderson but I don't need the Council to use your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore any information we could wind finding. Shepard and his team will handle this."

"Hey hold on, this is the Captain's case just as much as ours," Kaidan said, stepping forward towards Udina with a frown on his face.

"Yeah, you have no right to just cut him out of this case," Ashley added while she turned her head towards Udina's direction with a piercing look causing Udina to take a step back in slight panic.

Anderson let a small smile appear on his face with a small hint of pride in his team's loyalty to him but he raised both of his hands in surrender, saying "Back down team. He's right. I need to step aside…" With that being said, the three marines nodded with Kaidan falling back in line behind Shepard and next to Ashley.

"Thank you for calling your hounds back Captain," Udina said with a faint quiver in his voice, completely unaware that the marines grew angrier at the fact he called them "Hounds" but the man merely cleared his throat and continued on with "Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's den, a dinky, dingy little club located down in the lower parts of the wards. Just be careful, I wouldn't call him reliable."

"Five credit chits that he's some sleaze ball," Ashley whispered to Kaidan and SHepard, causing the two men to chuckle before Udina began to talk again.

"Good. Now you four best be on it. I and Anderson have some business to discuss in my office, Come by when you find something." And with that, the two walked off, leaving the three man squad alone.

"Well team...We have our mission. Let's get to it," Shepard said after a moment of silence, causing the team to reply with a nod.

* * *

**_Chora's Den_**

If anyone were to ask Shepard, The atmosphere of Chora's den was disgusting to him.

The place was dark with multicolored lights shining all over the place with fog covering the ground, the smell of the place reeked with cigar smoke and there were stripper poles in many areas of the place with the mix of human women and Asari, wearing some spandex that left nothing to imagination dancing around them or some just dancing on bare tables.

"Wow...I don't know whether this is funny or just plain sad," Ashley exclaimed quietly to her two fellow marines.

"Hm? what'cha talking about Ash?" Kaidan asked as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, we're millions of light years away from earth, standing in the most "prestigious" place in the known universe and here we are, standing in a strip club, watching strippers shaking their asses in front of their male clients...And here I thought we had evolved."

Shepard had to smirk at Ashley's words but didn't respond to them. Instead, his eyes spotted a familiar hulking red armored Krogan coming near them and that's when a whisper of a name floated into his head.

_'Wrex...'_ If there was one thing he was really guilty about was how he did the Krogan. He forced Wrex to kill off any chance of getting the genophage on Virmire then outright crushed the dreams of a cure when he killed Mordin and sabotaged the cure himself to get the help of the Salarians during the early part of the war.

Wrex found out of his betrayal and confronted him about it and Shepard outright lied to him then didn't hesitate to kill him when things weren't going his way. All Wrex had ever done was help him on his hunt for Saren and even opened his home to Shepard and what did he do to repay him? The worse thing he could ever do to him….

_"It'll be different this time….I need it to be different…"_ Shepard whispered beneath his breath, not away that Ashley had overheard his words and stared at him in confusion.

"Get out of my way humans; I have no quarrel with you," The krogan told them with his voice low and heavy voice, walking past them without sparing them a glance.

"What was that about?" Ashley asked.

"Who knows," Kaidan responded. "All I know is that he didn't sound too happy."

"Does any Krogan?" Ashley asked in jest.

Hearing her words, Kaidan simply grinned at this and said in a humoring tone "Well, it depends if you can tell the right jokes. I hear they love Turian and Salarian ones most of all."

As Shepard listened to his team's little banter, he found himself smiling a little, liking the interaction his team was having with each other but he had to cut it short by saying "Now, we're burning time here team, let's find this Harkin so we can continue on with this mission. " The two marines nodded and split up to find the man. Lucky for Shepard, he managed to find Harkin, who immediately began talking when he got closer to the table.

"Alliance military huh? I could'a been a military man myself but instead I decided to join C-sec. shittiest mistake I ever made."

"I take it you're Harkin," Shepard responded with a dry tone. If there was one thing he didn't regret however was Garrus killing him during his search for the traitorous Sidonis. Harkin was one of the most lowlife men he had ever met…Next to the Illusive man himself of course.

Harkin merely grinned at this and offered the seat across the table to him but Shepard continued to stand and stare at the balding man. Finally, Harkin responded with "That's my name. What do you want Marine?"

"I'm looking for a C-sec officer named Garrus Valkerian and I heard you might know where he is," Shepard explained to the man, who began to laugh boisterously.

"Garrus huh? That means you must be one of Anderson's boys. Poor bastard still trying to bring Saren down, eh?"

"Look, do you know where Valkerian is or not?" Shepard asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He already knew that Harkin knew the good Captain but he really didn't care. All he wanted to know where his target was before they lost their shot at finding him.

"Yeah, I know where he is," Harkin replied but then he smirked "But answer me this, did the Captain let you in on his dirty little secret?"

Shepard merely stared a bit more before saying "I really don't see what Anderson has to do with this and let's be honest, I don't even care so give me Valkarien's location..." Shepard said with aggression shining in his voice, preparing himself to take action if Harkin didn't supply him with the information.

"Oh but it's all related don't you see? The famous Captain Anderson used to-" Before Harkin could continue, a he found a gun inches away from his face.

"Enough...Give me Valkarien's location or you can tell your little tale to the wall with your blood," Shepard said dangerously, cocking his gun for extra incentive. Normally, he wouldn't resort to tactics like this at all but this man had been witling down any patience he had for the peaceful route.

He was lucky Harkin was located at the back of the club in the darkest corner. Otherwise, the bouncers could have seen him and kicked him out before he got the Intel which would have been bad for everyone involved. "A-alright! I'll tell you!" Harkin squeezed out in fear.

"Good answer. Now where is he?" Shepard demanded with his eyes narrowed.

"L-Last I heard, Garrus was seen snooping around Doctor Michelle's office. She runs the med clinic up in the wards! Now let me go!" Shepard nodded and quickly returned his gun to its rightful place before a wry grin formed on his face.

"Thank you for the information Harkin...Have a nice day," With that, Shepard quickly walked away from the sleazy officer and left the club, his squad mates quickly following him when they saw him leave.

"So I'm guessing you found Harkin?" Ashley asked after catching up with Shepard.

"Yeah…" Shepard replied before a very faint grin appeared on his face when he remembered what Ashley had said earlier. "The guy was a real sleaze ball."

Ashley merely smirked.

"Well someone better pick the phone because I fucking called it!"

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. Did you guys like it or not? Let me know in a review. Until next time!

Jack: Ugh! I gotta let off some steam...


	4. Chapter 3

Rain: Yeah…Here we are with a brand new chapter so sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Jack:….Ugh

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Melody of the past_**

**_Chapter Three_**

**_Doctor's Office_**

"You know something Commander…I'm starting to think going into these hostile environments will become something of an occurrence with us."

Shepard couldn't help but let a smirk appear on his face from Ashley's words as he slide against the wall in the red light covered alleyway, barely avoiding a stray bullet that was aimed at his head.

A few minutes ago, The three man squad had descended down the wards to Doctor Michelle's office where they had found her being held Hostage by a group of men in a standoff with the very turian they had been looking for.

The moment Shepard drew his gun and killed the man holding the good doctor, an all-out firefight ensued but luckily, Garrus had grabbed the doctor and tossed her into cover as Shepard and his gang dealt a swift but bloody death to them.

Thankful for her life, Doctor Michelle given them the information that she had recently patched up a young Quarian girl who had been shot a few days prior.

The minute Shepard had heard that, a fleeting voice had invaded his mind as well as a vision of a Quarian girl standing in front of him, her arms wrapped around his waist, her head tucked underneath his chin.

_"Wherever you go Shepard…I will always follow…"_ His hands had balled up into a fist, a scowl firmly implanted on his face and his eyes narrowing viciously, not that anyone could tell.

After Michelle told them where she was heading, the marines plus the C-sec officer had left the area but something was gnawing at him and that's when another vision filled his mind…

* * *

**_Vision_**

_Shepard was standing in a dark alleyway bathed in red light with tons of crates aligned against the far reaches of the walls, the crates having the insignia of a store he and his gang had passed on the way to the med-labs kept filling his mind, the lights flickering on and off and every other flicker, that same Quarian girl was standing in the abandoned alley, her three fingers clasped together and her head looking side to side, as if she was waiting for something…or someone._

_ He then saw her turn around to face him and with a hesitant step back, he heard her say out loud, "Kage…" She murmured softly with her exotic accent, causing his eyes to widen in shock. How did she know his codename from his…Darker days..._

_Suddenly, everything around him became muddled as the alleyway morphed behind her into several glowing red eyes behind her which then turned a bright yellow and then, the visor that covered her face slowly started to shine a bright yellow with lines of yellow slowly going down the lines of her suit which then started to glow brightly until Shepard was forced to cover his eyes. "_

_…I loved you…" she whispered out in torment as the eyes behind her focused on Shepard before completely blinding him._

**_Vision end_**

* * *

Shepard hadn't realized he and his squad had gotten close to the club but when they did, they found Garrus and Wrex waiting for them. He had a good feeling how Garrus had gotten Wrex there but the moment the two spotted each other, Wrex had given him fair warning.

He was going to be the one to kill Fist but as Shepard didn't respond. Instead, he had looked at the door that held a large empty room where Chora's den was located next to, that feeling became stronger while the image of Tali walking towards Fist's gang, confused, hurt and no one to trust.

"Tell me Garrus…." Shepard started. "Tell me what is the best place to have a meeting."

He watched as Garrus paused, his head tilted in thought before saying "There's an alleyway behind the markets down in the wards. It's kind of a popular place due to the lights as well as various criminal activities such as drug distribution, underworld meetings, prostitution, slave trading and murder so we have to check on that place often. Why do you ask Commander?"

Shepard shook his head with narrowed eyes as he closed his eyes. He knew where Tali was. He knew she was walking right into a trap and he needed to save her but at the same time, he had to keep a low profile about knowing the future so with a small frown, he said "Think about it…A scared Quarian looking for a safe haven at the citadel with Information about the Geth that could prove Saren's guilt then being wounded under mysterious circumstances? Something's afoot with this picture and that area would be the second best place to start due to its status as an underworld meeting place, with Fist being the first since the Quarian needed to set up said meeting in the first place…"

"I don't like it sir but you have a point…" Ashley replied, conceding, with the others following suit moments later. Shepard didn't let a smirk appear on his face due to the seriousness of the mission but he then split up the teams.

Ashley and Wrex were to enter Fist's place while he, Garrus and Kaidan were to go to the infamous alley and after telling the three to meet them there just in case the Quarian wasn't at Chora's den.

"Alright Shepard but we do we do with Fist? You know he might have people backing him up?" Ashley asked with Wrex turning to Shepard, one of them waiting for an answer while one knew the answer already due to his agreement with the said offended Shadow Broker.

Shepard merely looked at the three and replied with a cold tone in filling his voice "Do what you do best..."

Nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

**_The Alleyway_**

Garrus had led Shepard and Kaidan to the meeting spot but just as the three entered the alleyway only for them to quickly move back out when they spotted a dozen armed men standing in the alleyway, weapons in hand but there was no Quarian in sight...Yet.

"It seems you were right after all Commander, They were setting a trap for the Quarian…Amazing gut instinct…" Garrus had murmured under his breath with a tone of approval, pulling out his weapon after seeing Shepard and Kaidan arming themselves.

Shepard sneered darkly as he pulled out his assault rifle and responded with "A trap that needs to be dealt with…swiftly…." Shepard's eyes then narrowed dangerously and without any time wasted, the three moved out of their cover and began to fire their weapons.

A few of their rounds managed to strike the shields of the armed men, which all of them turned around and fired back, causing the three trained men to retreat behind the wall.

With a nod, Shepard tossed out a smoke grenade into the alleyway and waited for it to explode and once it did, Shepard slid from his position and walked into the smoke with Garrus and Kaidan walking in behind him.

Shepard had to admit that with the combination of the smoke and the red light, he couldn't help but be reminded by how the red light seemed to bath the smoke as if it was a fine mist of blood which triggered a memory he would have liked to forget.

_Standing there in the middle of a room filled with the bodies of batarians and marines alike was a man in black armor with a red strip going down the right arm of the armor, the blood of batarians falling down the black armor and in the man's right hand was a long blade with a black hilt and an obsidian colored blade that was also dripping with the blood of the fallen batarians._

_And finally, the man was missing his helmet, revealing the short black hair of the man which was matted onto his face by the blood of the slain and the man himself had a crazed, cruel smirk that was plastered on his face and with the one eye that was visible, it held rage._

_Pure rage._

Shutting his right eye eye, Shepard shook his head clear of the vision, causing the red mist around the man's body soon began to thicken and soon, the man was enveloped within the mist and moments later, a salarian in white armor was running out from the mist with his gun trained on Shepard's back.

Smirking, Shepard suddenly turned to his left and rammed his fist against the helmet of a salarian, knocking the salarian back into the wall where Shepard swiftly pulled out his pistol and fired one clean, point blank shot before turning to his comrades and saying "I don't want to injure the Quarian if she stumbles upon this mist so disarm them and deal out their just rewards for firing upon us."

Kaidan, who saw this execution, looked at his commanding officer and couldn't help but shiver at the way the kill took place. He was trained to dispatch his enemies when in a firefight but never in a upfront, cold manner that Shepard had just displayed and not just that, the way he gave the orders without so much batting an eye about killing someone like that was unsettling the marine but he had to put the sudden harshness of Shepard's mood aside to get the mission done but he didn't think he had it in him to be so…Merciless.

Garrus nodded at Shepard's orders without hesitation. He knew what it meant to do anything to get the job done even if the way it was done was deemed unjust to some people. Seeing both Garrus and Kaidan nod at his orders, Shepard gave his own nod and together, the three continued to advance into the red mist.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire filled their ears and the their shields suddenly flared to life and with an unified scowl, the three men dispersed and while Kaidan and Garrus dove for cover, Shepard leapt over a different crate while throwing an grenade at the thugs shooting at them before landing on the ground back first.

The three could hear the thugs scrambling to get from behind the crates but a loud explosion ensued and through the red smoke, the three watched as five men came flying from the smoke and while two fell to the ground and slide between Kaidan and Garrus' crates and Shepard's while three of them slammed against the wall behind him, accompanied by a sickening crunch made from the hard impact.

Shepard looked at the fallen men next to him as well as behind him and scoffed at their defeat before leaping over his crate to shoot the remaining fighting enemies with his assault rifle, taking a few down effortlessly while Garrus fired his pistol at the fleeing men heading up the alleyway stairs, making them stagger for a moment before falling forwards on the stairs.

Using his biotics to pick up the crates, Kaidan let out a sharp yell and tossed them at the men who were fleeing near the exit of the alley, watching as the crates slammed in the backs of the men, instantly dropping them.

But as he did this, one of the salarians that was sent flying by the grenade earlier was slowly coming to and saw Shepard standing on the crate and taking out a particularly unruly turian that was ranting about the cowards that were leaving, the salarian reached out his shotgun that he had dropped due to his unplanned flight and slumped back against the wall and slowly aimed it at Shepard's back.

Garrus, who had taken his eyes off of the stairwell for the moment saw the salarian aiming at Shepard's back and with a twitch of his mouth, he fired at the salarian repeatedly, watching in grim satisfaction as the body jerked with each impending shot until the salarian dropped his weapon and slumped forward, taking no more breath. Shepard turned around, hearing the shots behind him and saw the dead salarian then turned to see Garrus' gun still hot from the shots fired from it and he let a faint small form on his face.

He would have to thank Garrus for saving his neck again but he was sure he would return the favor very soon but as he jumped off of the crate, Garrus and Kaidan walked next to him and when Kaidan opened his mouth to say something, another voice had spoken up with shock.

_"Keelah…"_

When Shepard heard that one word echo down the now bloody alleyway, his body became rigid, his eyes became unfocused, his heart began to dance against his chest and his breathing slowed to a stop. He…He had heard that voice…So many times in the last few days that he had somehow found peace with them but to now know that the owner of that voice was standing at the stairwell behind him….He couldn't think straight.

She was here…

She was alive…

**_ "….I loved you…"_**

Shepard honestly didn't know what he would do.

He wanted to scoop her up into his arms and never let go of her. The guilt that had consumed him about her death had been gnawing at him but not that she was here, he could feel something welling up in his eyes.

Was it tears?

Letting out a small, relieved laugh, Shepard walked towards the small quarian and asked "Hello Miss, are you the quarian that Dr. Michelle treated a little while ago?" He watched as the Quarian girl looked up at him, confusion obviously showing in her shining silvery eyes.

"Yes, t-that's me…Who are you? W-What happened here?" She asked with a light nervous stutter which caused Shepard to hold back on a small laugh. He found that to be laugh to be very endearing to him.

He missed it…More than he thought he did because for a moment, he forgot to speak for a moment.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Behind me is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and C-Sec officer Garrus Vakarian and we are here to talk to you about something," He responded, introducing the Turian and Human behind him with a point, causing Kaidan to raise his hand and Garrus to merely nod at her direction.

"L-Like what?" She asked, his eyes gazing past the three heavily armed men to the bodies of the deceased men behind them warily but then her eyes snapped right back to the Commander's thick yellow visor. It was bizarre how much she stuttered. The Tali in his time was shy of course but she was also a smartass, shotgun toting, strong teammate.

Was this another thing that was different in his time?

"We heard that you had information about a Turian Spectre known as Saren as well as the ge-"

"How did you hear that?" she interrupted with a nervous tone but before Shepard could answer her, all of them turned to the stairs to see Ashley and Wrex coming down behind the steps behind her, only to stare at the bloodbath behind the four people.

"Whoa, Commander, you were right to come here first," Ashley told him the moment she saw him, which made everyone look at the trio.

"Yeah Shepard," Wrex agreed with a grunt before adding "Turns out that Fist was luring the Quarian into a trap but it seems that you deactivated it. How impressive," Wrex then grinned and placed his shotgun onto his shoulders.

"And what of Fist?" Garrus asked.

Ashley's eyes flashed to Wrex before turning to the Turian to say "Wrex had a contract to finish…." Shepard merely looked towards Wrex and nodded darkly in approval of this.

"No less than what he truly deserved," Shepard announced only to hear Kaidan try to mask the gasp that had left his mouth.

"How can you say that Commander? True, Fist wasn't a saint but he didn't deserve to die, did he?"

Another thing that surprised him.

In his timeline, Kaidan would obey an order without a blink of an eye but here, he is outright questioning him…How funny….But regardless, if there was one thing that would never change is that as long as he's breathing and in charge, his orders are law and no one was going to change that and it was time this Kaidan knew that.

Shepard turned to the shocked Kaidan then looked towards the deceased bodies of Fist's henchmen and replied "If we had not made it here today Alenko, She," He motioned to the Quarian, who was standing next to Shepard, very still. As if she was still trying to process everything. "Would have handed over the data we need to stop Saren and the Geth and gotten killed for her efforts."

He then walked away from Kaidan and walked far enough to stare at his entire squad and said "We don't know what Saren is planning but whatever it is, the fate of millions across the galaxy are in danger and at this moment, we are the only ones that can stop it," His eyes then stared directly at Kaidan's as he said "And if we need to kill a few worthless criminals like Fist in order to save everything we care for then so be it. If you have an issue with his Alenko, You can be assigned to a new ship…"

The two men stared at each other for a long time but Kaidan lowered his eyes as he said "I understand…Commander but what now?"

"Well…That depends on her," Shepard answered him while he turned his gaze to the Quarian, who's head rose to meet his gaze. "What do you say ma'am? Do you mind sharing your data with us?"

The Quarian merely gazed at the Commander in response to his question before saying "I…I want t-to help. Y-You saved m-me when I w-was c-could have b-b-been killed…A-And if it inv-volves killing G-Geth….I-I'm in." Despite the stutter, he could hear the determination in her voice, causing him to smile.

At least something was the same.

"Gotta say Commander, it sounds like she wants to help with our cause," Shepard looked at Ashley then back at the woman standing before him and awaited her answer…

Which he didn't have to wait for long because she looked up at him and said "S-She's right, I do w-want t-to help. Y-You guys saved m-my l-life and I need to r-repay you for th-that but not here…We need to get s-somewhere s-safe…."

Shepard nodded at this and for a moment, he wasn't sure where to go until Garrus said "Maybe we should go to the human embassy. Your ambassador would probably want to see what the Quarian has."

"Tali," The woman said, making all eyes turn to her curiously.

"What was that?" Kaidan asked curiously.

"My n-name…" Tali said with a small but happy tone in her voice "Its Tali'Zorah N-Nar Raaya."

Shepard smiled faintly at this and held out his hand to her, saying "Nice to meet you Tali."

Tali stared at the hand for a moment then back at Shepard before taking his hand in a gentle handshake, replying "It's n-nice to m-meet you too..." Shepard nodded at this and turned around to walk off, hearing each member of his squad introduce themselves to Tali, who responded with a kind "Nice to meet you"

_'Well…This may prove to be interesting…'_

* * *

**_The Citadel_**

**_The Council Chambers_**

"Shepard, have you completely lost your mind!" Udina shouted the minute Shepard walked into the room with his future team, causing them all to blink as the man raged on. "Fire fights in the wards, Tons of casualties, Fist dead and thousand dollars in damages! Do you have any idea how much money it'll take to fix all of this?!"

Shepard merely shrugged, saying "We have bigger issues than that. We found someone that is able to help us prove Saren's guilt."

Udina merely scowled and walked up the commander and said "You do now huh? So tell me, who is the one who will crack open the case that leads to Saren's guilt? The Krogan? The Turian? **You**? Don't make me laugh."

Instead of replying to his ignorant questions Shepard merely moved aside and from behind him, Tali stood tall but inwardly, she was nervous. She had never been in an embassy before so this was a brand new experience.

Udina merely scowled.

"A quarian? In the Embassy? Shepard, are you out of your mind? If they catch this in here, they will kick us all out," Udina said, almost visibly repulsed at the sight of Tali, causing Shepard to frown heavily, instantly remembering why he enjoyed killing Udina so much during his time but something was bugging him. While Udina was a prick, Udina wasn't an outright racist. He even treated Tali kindly during his period so this was a little more jarring to see.

Was his time that different?

Regardless, he was not going to get away with those words so with a scowl, he grabbed Udina by his jacket and pulled him close so they were face to face and said in a heated tone "You listen and listen good Udina. Councilman or not, I will not allow you to speak about someone who is here to help us. Now You better apologize or I will make sure I shot the parts of you that you will be missing…"

Pushing Udina away, Shepard ignored the looks of surprise from his squad mates and turned around to face Tali to say "Please forgive him, He's not used to having to play nice but he will and not just to you…" Shepard turned around and crossed his arms while the visibly shaken Udina came walking forward and apologized to the small quarian.

"I-It's ok…" Tali murmured softly before Shepard softly told her to show him the information that would blow the top of Saren's plan…

* * *

**_Council's Chambers_**

_"It seems our mission on Eden Prime was a huge success. This victory will bring us one step closer to the conduit…"_

_"And once step closer to the return of the Reapers…."_

"You ask us for proof and that is how we give proof. Anyone want to Rebuttal? This is an open discussion after all," Ashley said in amusement as Kaidan snorted in an attempted to hide his laugh, Wrex chuckled, Tali gave a small giggle and Garrus and Shepard were giving full blown grins as they started at the stunned expressions on the Councilors faces.

Shepard couldn't help but enjoy these faces.

In his time, these three caused some massive issues for him and his missions up until the Reapers actually arrived but while they were too serious in his time, these three seemed as if they don't have their emotions completely guarded…If the gob-smacked look implied anything.

"As miss Williams has stated, we have bought you proof of Saren's betrayal of the council, now you must do something!" Udina said as he pointed towards the three with a polite yet cocky tone in his voice, causing Shepard to merely shake his head.

And to think, this guy almost cost them their chance to show the council up.

"Udina…You…Are certainly correct in your assessment…" The Salarian councilor stated, the first to shake off his stunned expression. "We did ask for proof of Saren's betrayal and we have certainly gotten it but I wonder…Who is the female voice alongside his?"

"Matriarch Benezia…" The Asari councilor replied, almost horrified at recognizing the voice. "She is one of the most honored Asari Matriarchs in the entire Terminus System…What is she doing wrapped up in Saren's affairs?"

"And the most damning of all are these…"Reapers"," The Turian councilor said, finger quoting the word "Reaper", causing Shepard to sigh.

Even in his time, this guy does it.

"Who are they and why does Saren and Benezia want them to return? So many questions about all of this that must be answered…" The Turian councilor continued, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Well…" The Asari councilor began, her blue eyes staring straight ahead at Shepard, a small, mischievous smile on her face as she said "I believe we found the person that will get those answers for us…"

Her fellow councilors were confused by her statement before they followed her gaze and felt their eyes grow in shock. "D-Do you really think Humanity is ready?" The Salarian councilor asked in alarm at this sudden realization.

"They aren't at all," The Turian councilor responded with a grumble but continued on with "And as much as it pains me to say, This is a desperate time. We don't have the man power to send anyone on this quest to hunt the rouge Spectre down and Shepard and his team took great leaps in finding the truth for us…"

"And before Nihlus perished, we were scouting him as the first Human Spectre," The Asari added on. "This is the perfect time and place to happen…It as if the Goddess planned it herself…"

"Then it is decided…" The Salarian councilor stated before turning to Shepard and saying "The Butcher of Torfan leading the charge to hunt down the Rouge Spectre…This should make headlines. Along with this news…Rock Shepard…Step forward."

Knowing the drill already, Shepard took a step forward and kneeled on one knee, his head bowed.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," The Asari councilor said with a small smile on her face. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

Following her lead, the Salarian councilor said "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will. Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Then finally, the Turian councilor added "You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for not only you, but to your entire species as well. Go forth Rock Shepard and hope to the spirits protect you and your team can bring down the threat looming in the distance."

Shepard leaned up and gave a small grin as he said "No worries, Saren will be brought to Justice and whoever these Reapers are…They will be broken…"

_'And no matter what…I will make sure that everyone makes it out alive this time…No matter what the cost…'_

* * *

Rain: And with that, Shepard is now the first Human Spectre in this new universe but now as the hunt for Saren begins, Things won't be as easy as Shepard thinks it is…What will happen next time? Only one way to find out.

Garrus: By the Spirits, don't keep us waiting too long. Read and review and perhaps I will give you all "Special" calibrations.


	5. Chapter 4

Rain: And I am back with a brand new chapter. I hope I am keeping everyone entertained with this fic. This chapter will be a slow chapter as a for warning and will set things up for a new chapter. So here we go!

Jack: I don't care about telling these asses to enjoy. I can't even swear at them….Just read and shit.

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Melody of the past_**

**_Chapter Four_**

**_The Normandy_**

"So…How does it feel to not only being the first human Spectre ever and the captain of the Normandy, Shepard? Must be pretty awesome, Right?" Shepard's hidden eyes gazed over to Joker's sitting form and gave a small smile.

He felt as if he was home.

This place…Along with the second version of the Normandy had been his home for so long, he honestly couldn't see himself not the leader of the entire crew. Yeah, he was a little disappointed with the fact Anderson was kicked to the sidelines again but he missed leading the ship and he wouldn't have it any other way.

But he had to make it seem like he was a little conflicted about it.

"To be honest, I hate the fact that Captain Anderson was forced to relinquish the Normandy into my command but at the same time, what Spectre has a captain to give him them their orders? Fact is, as guilty as I truly feel about all of this; I'm glad that I no longer need to follow the chain of command. I now have the obligation to do what needs to be done. Not only as the captain of this ship, but as a Spectre as well. I know that I will need to make hard choices for the good of the galaxy, something he wouldn't be able to do due to his morals and while that is good, sometimes, good thing have vicious backlash."

He then paused for a moment as if he was thinking of something added "Besides, Anderson and Saren have a personal history together and were he to remain on this ship as its captain, He would let his anger blind him which in turn would cause him to make the wrong choices and in the end…People will die…"

But then again…So did he and Saren.

"Well…You shouldn't feel so damn guilty commander, all of us know that Anderson was screwed from his position and in some way, I agree with you. Kaidan told me about how he inadvertently made things a bit harder so as hard as it was to say goodbye to him, we're not going sit here and blame you for his forced retirement. Commander, we're all behind you one hundred percent."

Joker then smirked.

"Just promise to lead us into an Asari spa resort to instill our loyalty from time to time," Joker then took his eyes off of his new captain for a moment to activate the intercom then turned back to Shepard to ask "Well then, You have anything you want to say to your crew?"

Shepard nodded and stepped forward to the intercom and took a breath before saying "Attention crew of the SSV Normandy, This is Commander Shepard speaking and what I'm about to tell you will be of great importance so listen well. We are on a mission to stop a group of beings that have not been seen outside the veil in over two hundred years, being led by a rouge Spectre known as Saren Arterius. I will not lie; this mission will not be an easy one. Not even close."

He closed his eyes and took a slow breath before opening them again while saying "As much as none of you want to hear this, saving everyone only happens in vids on the extranet. There will be tears, there will be blood and there will be sacrifices abound. Being in charge means making sure I lead all of you to greater objective which is stopping Saren from getting to the conduit at all costs. That's a reality that needs to be shared by all of us. Everything is riding on our victory and I will be damned if we fail and let him succeed in bringing back these…Reapers…"

Shepard had to pause as the thought of both Sovereign and Harbinger entered his head, causing him to scowl.

So many lives were ended by these two…He would stop them but he knew that he couldn't be alone.

_"No one man is an island Shepard…You can't go through life expecting all of the answers..."_ Thane's words from his past shot into his head as he nodded in agreement. He would never try to fight this alone anymore. He needed help and to gain it, he had to keep everyone alive this time…

"This could very well be our last mission and I don't want anyone to walk into this with regrets so tonight, I want those who have family on the Citadel to go home, make love to your spouse, spend time with your children, be with your family, drink till your hearts are content with your friends and comrades and if you don't have family on the citadel then phone those you care about but come tomorrow morning, we leave here…And we will fight."

"We fight for those Saren has killed in the past, we fight for those that can perish in the future….We fight for every living, breathing being in this universe…We fight for the lost…And we will fight for the saved…Have a good night everyone. Shepard out."

With those words, Joker cancelled the feed and went to give Shepard a look only to blink in surprise when he found that Shepard had disappeared from his side.

"How the hell did he do that with them heavy ass boots on?"

* * *

**_Shepard_**

Shepard didn't waste any time to leave what he deemed "Joker's domain" and waltzed down to the bridge where Kaidan was awaiting for him and with a pat on Kaidan's shoulder, Shepard said to him "Lieutenant Alenko, gather Wrex, Tali, Garrus and Ashley and tell them to meet me in the meeting room, I need to speak with all of you,"

Kaidan nodded at this but placed his hand on Shepard's shoulder, causing the Commander to look back at him. "About what happened in that alleyway…I apologize. I was out of line…" Kaidan said with a frown on his face.

Shepard shook his head and placed a hand on Kaidan's outstretch arm, silently saying it was alright and that he forgave him but as he stared at the lieutenant, he heard the man's voice in his head faintly say _"It's been done Commander…Go back and get Williams …And get out of here…Please…go.."_ But the way Shepard had heard it, it was so…haunting…so…broken…so alone.

It was then Shepard remembered.

Kaidan was to die at Vimire…

Of all the stupid things to forget, this was one of them. He knew that his mind was on "Changing the outcome" but he should have realized that one of the biggest sacrifices was made by this man before him on that damn planet. But Shepard was here to change it. He would change Kaidan's fate. He had to do it…

* * *

**_Meeting Room_**

"So, any idea why Shepard wanted us down here?" A concerned Ashley asked Kaidan while leaning back in her chair, her feet propped up on Kaidan's lap only for Kaidan to knock them back down to the ground and give him a disappointed shake of his head, only for Ashley to stick out her tongue out at him childishly.

Wrex saw this and murmured out "Humans," with an amused chuckle.

"I have no idea. He just wanted all of us here," The lieutenant replied with a shrug of his shoulders, giving Ashley a glare when she placed her feet back on his lap, only to push them back off.

"He may w-want to go over the mission w-with us," Tali murmured, sitting in the chair farthest from everyone. "I mean, it's not everyday something like this happens." Ashley shrugged and glanced over at the Quarian and yawned lazily, leaning back on her chair.

"I just hope he gets here soon, I'm utterly exhausted from today's events," Garrus couldn't help but let out a bark of a laugh from Ashley's comment, which caused the human female's eyebrow to quirk in annoyance but as she opened her mouth to respond, the door opened to reveal Shepard without his armor but he was wearing his uniform and a jacket that had the similar colors of the Alliance uniform on it on top of it with his hood over his head.

Normally, he wouldn't dare wear his alliance jacket unless on shore leave but it was time for a change. The old Shepard would wear his armor or uniform everywhere but now, he didn't care for it. "I know that I told everyone to go onto the Citadel for shore leave but I needed to speak to all of you face to face about our upcoming mission."

Shepard took a deep breath and looked towards the six people he would be commanding once the mission began and knew he had some work to do but especially on Ashley.

She is brash, prickly, blunt and quick-tempered and has her moments of arrogance, she was very her dedicated to her job and the alliance, she was loyal, brutally honest, aggressive on the field and tough but far but she also had a penchant for poetry and instilled moral to whoever was under her command.

Her weapons training was one of the best in her class and no one could score higher scores than her and that impressed him greatly but that's when he noticed that despite her endless praises from officers above her, including his former commanding officer, Gunnery Chief Ellison, she was only stuck on ground Garrison posts up until Eden Prime.

He didn't get it, from all accounts, she was a perfect field leader that inspired unity as well as bravery but that's when he remembered an excerpt from Ellison about Williams from when he first glanced at her dossier years ago.

_"Even though Williams is a suburb Soldier and Leader, Her superiors' prejudice against her family is costing her the chance to gain actual combat experience, despite her exemplary technical scores. I cannot name the many times Williams requested a transfer to a shipboard posting, only to be denied without explicit reasons. I believe that due to this unfair discrimination she's experiencing due to her name, Ashley may start to think that she has to be better than the best, to make up for her grandfather's "Mistake" at Shanxi and I fear that this can lead to her demise if she is not careful."_

Ashley's family name was being tainted by her grandfather's legacy as the only human general to surrender to the Turians at Shanxi during the early start of first contact war but he found this idiotic. The general had saved the lives of his men instead of leading them to the slaughter against the Turians and not only was he shunned for it, he apparently cursed his family to this "Shame".

But as he watched her eyes gaze towards Garrus when the Turian moved slightly, he saw the hint of worry in her eyes and seeing that, he was reminded by their conversation in his past.

* * *

**_Memory Start_**

_"I know things are different here on the Normandy but…I'm concerned about something..." _

_Shepard's eyebrow rose at this. He and Ashley were talking about the mission to rescue Doctor Liara T'Soni when she suddenly sprang this up on him and at first, he was going to simply tell her to return to her duties but then he shook his head. Maybe he should hear here out on this one._

_"What are your concerns Chief Williams?" He asked after a few moments of silence before saying "And yes, you can speak freely."_

_"Thank you Commander…Ah, with all due respect Sir, do you think they should have full access to the ship? The Aliens I mean…" _

_That took Shepard off guard. _

_He wasn't expecting a question like that but then his eyes narrowed. He did not like where this was going one bit but he answered "I do…They are a part of this crew and so far, they've proven themselves worthy of my trust to not take advantage of it this isn't about their loyalty is it?"_

_Shepard then walked a few feet away from her with his back turned before turning his head and narrowing his eyes coldly and said "It's because they're not humans." _

_He watched Ashley take a few steps back, seemingly surprised at the cold look he had given her but she then regained that fire in her eyes and said "Sir, this is one of the most advanced ships in the Alliance Navy. I honestly don't think we should sit here and give them free reign to poke around the vital systems. Like the weapons, sensors and engines…I just don't think it's a good idea."_

_"I understand your concerns but this ship is under my orders." Shepard responded icily but Ashley quickly fired back with "Under your orders? So it's under your orders to let aliens gather military intelligence? I don't think I can believe that was the Alliance's intention…" _

_She seemed to pause for a moment to get her tune in check, seemingly remembering that she was talking to her commanding officer before saying "I just think that Humans need to rely on humans…We can't put too much trust on these aliens." _

_"So…You're telling me that instead of working as a team, we should mistreat the aliens that chose to come with us out of their own free will to stop Saren and do this on our own?" Shepard responded while shutting his eyes, trying to keep his temper in check but he couldn't…_

_He needed to let his thoughts be heard or else it would boil inside him before coming out at the wrong time so with a frown, he said to her "Listen Gunnery chief, this is my ship and I will not have you question my decisions on who I trust. If you continue to second guess my command, I will lock you up in the brig for insubordination and see to it that you go back to what you were doing before Eden Prime, working on planet side Garrisons until your dying day. Do you understand me Chief?"_

_He saw the fire In Ashley's eyes brighten at his harsh tone and knew she wanted to lash back but then the fired died quickly and like a wounded animal, she nodded and murmured "Understood Commander…."_

**_Memory End_**

* * *

After the memory faded away into his head, he let his eyes stay closed for a moment to gather his thoughts and then he looked towards Ashley and merely shook his head.

There was no way in hell he would allow this to go down but unlike himself in the vision, he needed to play this differently but he knew that she wasn't the only issue on his team but he'll deal with the others when their  
time comes.

But then he saw Ashley freely speaking to Tali about something, causing the quarian to laugh which caused Shepard to blink in surprise. Now this was new. Like in his vision, Ashley didn't trust anyone not human but in this world, she is freely talking and joking with Tali. That's a refreshing change but he was curious as to why this was occurring.

Could she have changed as well?

Walking to a chair that was in the middle and at the top of the circle of chairs, Shepard sat down and gazed at his soldiers and said to them "Now, this mission is highly important. The fate of the universe rests in our hands. I know that we're basically a group of dogs facing a pack of wolves."

Garrus, Wrex and Tali glanced at each other at the mention of these "Wolves" but the Turian shrugged and looked back at Shepard, prompting Wrex and Tali to do the same. "But I know for a fact that we can hunt down Saren and take him out but in order to really do that, we need to do a few things…" Shepard continued while leaning back in his chair.

"Like what Commander?" Tali asked with a tilt of her head, making Shepard smile very faintly and briefly.

"Well, The first thing we need to work on is…" He started out before leaning forward to look at all of them with a serious tone in his voice.

"Unity."

This one word had caused the five members of his squad to look at him in surprise. "I'm sure all of you know that in order to truly become a team, we need to have harmony within this squad because without that, we would fall into chaos and being that we are the only ones that has the abilities to take out Saren, we might as well hand him the galaxy on a silver platter."

He then let his words sink in before saying "This is the reason why we'll be starting team exercises from this moment on."

When Shepard finished, Wrex lets out a rough bark of a laugh before glancing at Shepard and saying "Do you honestly think bonding will help our teamwork? I mean look at your troops."

Shepard turned his head to see Ashley and Kaidan on guard with clenched jaws then he turned back to Wrex who told the Commander "They can barely be in the same room as us without either getting scared or on edge. Given the chance, they wouldn't hesitate to take any of us down if we weren't in your presence."

"Which is why we are doing these exercises Wrex," Shepard stood up in his chair and walked to the middle of the room and said to all of them "I know for a fact this won't be easy for any of us. Hell, A Turian, a Krogan and a Quarian teaming up with humans to hunt down a former top Spectre which also belongs to one of the races in citadel space? This is practically unheard of but here we are. Doing the impossible already just by all of us being together."

Shepard let a sigh leave his lips as he gathered his thoughts for a split second before adding "… The Council already believes we won't be able to capture him and stop his plans and if we don't get on the same page, we will prove them right and fail. Something I will not allow. If any of you dislike the ideas of working with aliens of any kind, be kind enough to tell me now. Otherwise, we can begin."

At this point, he made it a point to not look in Ashley's direction, despite feeling the brief rush of anxiety from her and merely said after moments of silence, "Perfect…Now…Before we get our team training underway, I want to discuss with all of you the three main areas we will be heading to investigate after our brief shore leave."

"And what planets are those Commander Shepard?" Ashley asked with a serious expression on her face, which was shared by everyone. "The planets of Noveria, of Feros, and any planet that resides in the Knossos system." Shepard replied with a nod.

"These places…" Tali started with a confused tone in her synthesized voice, her silvery eyes gazing at Shepard, who nodded at her to continue. "What do they have to do with our mission, C-Commander?"

"Well, there have been sightings of one of Saren's accomplices, Matriarch Benezia in Noveria and in Feros, the Geth have invaded and fighting a human colony there but we don't exactly know why the Geth have invaded that planet," Shepard explained with a cross of his arms, the curious frown on his face telling his squad that he was deep in thought.

"And why the Knossos system of all places, Commander?" Shepard looked at Garrus and saw the critical thinking in the turian's eyes. "To find Doctor Liara T'Soni, The daughter of Matriarch Benezia and an expert on the Protheans. She was last seen in that system but then she suddenly went missing."

He let the team soak this in for a moment and once he felt that it was time to continue, he saw Kaidan raise his hand and with a nod of approval, Kaidan said "We should go to Noveria. If we can find Benezia, she might be able to tell us where Saren is hiding."

"I think that's a setup," Garrus replied, shaking his head at Kaidan's opinion. "Saren would know we would go after her first and may have tons of Geth to aid her. We should instead find her daughter, Dr. T'Soni. She could have valuable information about Saren and plus, she's a Prothean expert, we might need her."

Wrex bobbed his head at this and gave a reply of "Seems like the scuttle bone has a good point," with a rough but humored tone, which caused Garrus' mandibles to twitch in annoyance. "We should find this Doctor, Shepard."

Ashley snorts at this and said "She could also be working for Saren. I mean her mother is on his side so why wouldn't she side with them? Personally commander, I think we should go to Feros first since the reports do say the Geth are attacking there. Dr. T'Soni may still be safe but the colony on Feros may not last much longer if we go after her or her mother first. Besides, maybe we can find some information about Saren and the Geth as well."

Shepard nodded in agreement at this and went to say something but then to his surprise, Tali's voice floated into his ear, saying "I agree with Ashley, Commander. The lives of hundreds of people are in danger from the Geth and they won't stop until every last one of your species on that planet is dust against the wind."

"It seems we've come to an impasse Shepard..." Wrex said with a small chuckle.

That they had.

Shepard was left with three choices and the least terrible one was looking for Liara.

Feros was a fucking disaster of a mission where he tried to spare people with that gas toxin but they soon overran them and both he and Tali were nearly killed during that mission. Noveria was also a bad mission because he had to watch Liara suffer through her breakdown after her mother's death.

After a few seconds of thought, Shepard looked at his expectant team and said "Hm…I think we should go t-"

Without warning, a solider busted into the meeting room and said "Commander! We're receiving an SOS from Feros from Captain Shepard of the Titan!" Shepard looked in alarm.

His sister was on Feros?! What the hell is she doing there?!

No matter what she was doing there, Feros was a death trap and looking at the SOS, it may have been sprung already. "Tell Joker to fire up the engines and call everyone back to the ship!" Shepard yelled.

"From the look on Skipper's face, I think we have our first mission," He heard Ashley to Tali and Kaidan and she was right. There was no way in hell that he was going to let his sister die, whether he knew her well enough or not when he had the power to save her.

As the soldier ran off to let Joker know of the news as well as get everyone on board the ship, Shepard took a deep breath and turned to his team with a scowl on his face "Well team, looks like fate had a different plan for us. Looks like we're going Geth busting…As well as a rescue mission...Suit up and get ready."

* * *

Rain: And like that, one of the worst fucking missions of the game is starting off first. What will happen on Feros? Find out on the next chapter.

Garrus: Damn Feros.


	6. Chapter 5

Rain: And I'm back. And be warned, this is another slow chapter which is setting up more for later chapters but don't fear, after this one, that fucking mission called Feros will start so sit back, relax and...

Jacob: Enjoy your priiiize…

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Melody of the past_**

**_Chapter Five_**

"I fucking **Hate** Feros," Shepard raged to himself as he bounced back and forth on his toes, his black hair sticking to his sweating face as his wrapped up fist slammed against the green boxing bag in a rhythmic pattern, a scowl on his face.

Of all the missions he had to do first, it would be fucking this one.

The first time he took this mission, he thought it would be a simple "Save the colony" type mission but instead, this fucking place had space zombies controlled by a fugly looking plant with a controlled, powerful Asari warrior as its thrall. It really annoyed the shit out of him when she kept getting cloned and getting in their way to kill the monstrous plant.

But even then, they had to deal with the plant zombies which was very aggravating to him as well. They absorbed a large amount of rounds and they could move very fast…Then he had to worry about the issue of the colonist. In his time, he slaughtered them all when he knew there was another option and while he killed them all last time, he would go that extra mile to save them.

If he could.

Then there was an unknown factor which was his sister.

He was still amazed that he had one in this time period.

Was she like him?

Was she different?

Well she had to be in all honesty.

She was the hero of the Skyllian blitz.

But that's all he really knew and apparently, that's all anyone else knew of her as well as there were nothing else known about her before that day. No name of parents, no other family members other than himself. Nothing at all. Maybe she had kept quiet about their family or maybe they were orphans.

All he knew that she was the key of this time and he needed her.

But then his mind continued to race.

In this time, he had a sister, Udina was a total racist dick, Ashley was friendly with Tali from the get go and hell, even the counselors were less annoying this time around. These small changes made things very different and if that was the case here, could his missions be different as well? Before he could really think on the implications of this, an amused female voice broke his train of thought.

"Wow Skipper, you've been hitting that thing pretty hard."

Turning his head, Shepard turned to see Ashley wearing a look of amusement on her face as she stood there, in a basic black shirt and grey jogging pants, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"As you can obviously tell, I am just releasing some stress right now, thinking about Feros…" Shepard told her, unable to keep the edge of anger from his voice as he uttered the name of their oncoming location. "But I suppose it can wait. How can I help you Ashley?" He asked while unwrapping the black wrap around his left knuckle.

"I…I heard what you said about us working with Vakarian and Wrex…And I wanted to talk to you about it," Ashley said as she moved away from the door and toward him but she then paused, as if she remembered who she was speaking too and said "If you want that is sir."

Shepard merely sighed.

He should have seen this coming but he wouldn't snap like he did the last time this came up. He would hear her out and try to sooth her worries so after a moment, he motioned for her to sit down on the bench and once she did, he sat down next to her and let out a small sigh, saying "Well then Ashley, speak your mind."

Ashley was silent for a few moments but then she took a small breath and said "Your idea…About all of us working in unity...I'm sure you know the stigma of my last name "Williams" correct?" Shepard nodded at this, remaining silent. "Well…I…It's hard to me to say this but while I have a lot of issues working with Wrex and Vakarian…I don't trust them on our ship but I know that despite this, they are here to help us of our own free will and for the good of the mission…I-I want to give your idea a go."

Now Shepard was surprised.

He expected her to talk about why she doesn't want them on the ship but instead, she was willing to make his idea work but he was curious. Why did she want to do it? "It seems your face is very readable, Skipper," Ashley said with a teasing smile on her face, causing Shepard to blink.

That was also a first.

Schooling his looks, Shepard merely asked her "Why? Knowing your family's stigma, I would think you wouldn't trust them."

Ashley merely smiled knowingly and took out a silver locket and when she opened it, Shepard peeked inside and to his surprise, Shepard saw a young Ashley with three other girls, which he thought were her other sisters and standing behind them was a quarian teenager with her arms crossed, watching them with almond shaped silvery eyes.

What in the hell was he looking at here?

As if she knew what he was thinking, Ashley said "The four girls are me, my sister Sarah, Rachel and the youngest, Trinity. The quarian above us is our "Aunt" Talsi Orah Nar Raaya…My father met her during his last mission before his return home. She was being sold as a slave by some batarians bastards. My father immediately took them out and saved her from them. She had been in there for us since. At first, I fought against her presence, not wanting that "Alien" in our home after what had happened to our grandfather at Shanxi but when mom died later that year…"

Shepard glanced at her when she took a small breath and saw unshed tears in her eyes and was about to urge her to stop but she steeled her emotions and said "When my mom died, I refused to talk to anyone at all because I was sad at God for taking her to heaven…All I wanted to do was be left alone to wallow but Tayu was far too stubborn for that."

Ashley let a grin form on her face as she said "One day, Tayu snuck into my room and hid my favorite doll in her room. I was a pissed off ten year old that day. I raised hell but when Orah returned it to me after I bitched long enough, she said to me "Keelah, If that is what it takes to get you back to your normal self, I would have done that long ago!""

Ashley let a laugh leave her lips as she shook her head.

"I was so furious at her for what she did but I later realized that she was upset that I was so hurt…Her! The one person that I couldn't stand because of her race was upset that I was so sad! It was then that I realized that I was so unfair to her...I called her all the names I heard our neighbors say to her and made her life a living hell yet she never grew mad. She was always happy and grateful for the little she had…I remembered that when I realized this, I hugged her and cried my little eyes out and apologized."

Shepard smiled at this.

"I remember her telling me that she forgave me for all that I said. I realized then that I judged, both people and aliens, wrong. I should judge them all by their own character, not of their race. Does that mean I'll be all buddy-buddy with Vakarian and Wrex? No but I am willing to at least get a good report with them during our Spectre hunting."

"Like you have with Tali?" Shepard asked her with a small grin on his face.

Ashley's face seemed to light up slightly at the mention of the Quarian girl and said "She reminds me a lot of my sister Sarah. She's very shy but I see some of that fire in her like Orah had when I was younger. I couldn't help but like her and to make it better, she even sided with me about our mission to Feros."

Hearing the name of the planet immediately put Shepard in a bad mood once again but before he could say anything, Ashley said "Look, I just wanted to talk to you to get my feelings on the matter out so thanks Commander."

Shepard shook his head and replied "No problem. Honestly, this works perfectly for what I want us to work on after our mission on Feros is finished but until then, we focus on this mission but thank you for sharing this with me Ashley." And he meant that.

In his timeline, the Ashley he had known was nothing short of a Terra Firma member due to her hatred but this Ashley was different. She was taught at an early age to not be so biased against Aliens while also remaining a bit hesitant to trust them as an individual which was fine with him.

It would make it very hard to shoot if again if things were the same in his timeline.

Ashley nodded and said "It is not a big deal. I'm just glad you didn't laugh it off like all my other commanding officers do." She then stood up and stretched her arms up in the air before saying "I better get suited up. When I was talking to Joker, he said Feros was only two hours away." And with that, Ashley walked away, leaving Shepard by himself once again, stewing over the fact that the hell known as Feros was just two hours away.

"Fucking Feros…" Shepard grumbled out but at least he knew one thing from Ashley's story.

Perhaps some changes are necessary to make things easier.

* * *

**_Two Hours later_**

"I still can't believe I'm wearing this…" Shepard lamented to himself as he looked at his armor in the mirror. The suit was a specialized onyx Alliance military "N7" armor that had a thin white strip with a dark blue inside of it adorned on his right arm and an "N7" medal on the right side of his upper chest along with a helmet that adorned a dark blue strip in the middle and a thick yellow visor, that hid his eyes from the outside world.

But that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that on the armor, there was the faint image of a panther's body etched on the armor with the front legs of the lion going down the armored sleeves of his suit to his gloves, which had silver knuckles on it with three small spikes between the knuckles and the back legs going to his armored legs, which had three holes on the side of his legs pointing down towards the ground, which confused him greatly.

And finally, on his helmet was the image of the head of a panther on it, the top canines of the lion were going down the thick yellow visor and the bottom canines were at the bottom of his helmet where his chin was and normally, Shepard would have his mouth uncovered but he quite liked his mouth being covered.

But overall, he found the design of the suit gaudy but it would be suffice.

Walking to his locker, he attached his weapons onto his back but noticed a hilt next to his pistol. He picked it up and tossed it up and down without knowing it, he wound up pressing a button on it, causing a obsidian colored blade with a dark blue line along the back of the blade shot out from the hilt.

Shepard flipped the blade in his right hand and stared at it in wonder. How did he come across this armor with so many customizations as well as a sword? Shepard found the button the released the blade and pressed it again and immediately, the blade slide back into the hilt where he then placed it on his left hip, where it remained.

He knew how to use a blade due to his timeline but even then, he wasn't allowed to have it after he gained the name "Butcher of Torfan" and from the comments the Salarian counselor made, this timeline's Shepard went through the same thing so how did he keep his weapons while he lost his in his timeline?

Shepard made a mental note to ask his sister about their past because at this point, he needed to find out exactly who he was in this timeline and in order to do that, he had to get her safe. Walking away from his locker, he walked towards "Joker's domain" and saw Joker talking to Kaidan about their location where he then asked "Joker, ETA?"

Joker turned his head to Shepard and said "Oh that? We're approaching the planet in ten minutes but man the readings I'm getting from where we're landing is fucking huge boss. I haven't seen readings like this since we were on Eden Prime. And in the middle of those wild readings is The Titan's SOS signal so you guys better careful. We wouldn't want Pressley to captain this ship if shit goes down."

Hearing that caused Shepard to chuckle a bit before he said "Joker, I want you to drop us off at the Hanger and get to the Titan afterwards with the team I'm assigning to this mission." After saying that, Shepard glanced at Kaidan and then said "Come on, we need to have a brief meeting before we land."

Without bothering to see Kaidan following his command, Shepard waltzed down to the bridge were Tali, Garrus, Ashley and Wrex were and as he stopped to look at them, Kaidan came up from behind him to stand next to Ashley.

"Ok…This mission is not going to be easy at all. We not only have Geth activity here but we also need to help the Titan and any survivors within it and we have a short time to do it which is why I will be splitting us up. Kaidan, I want you, Wrex and Garrus to save the crew of the Titan while me, Ashley and Tali will investigate why the Geth are here. We do this quickly and get out just as fast, I don't want any of you to become heroes and risk your lives."

"So…you're saying we get a choice to not risk our lives?" Garrus asked him.

"In that case, I would like to stay here," Kaidan said with a grin.

Shepard glowered at the two before saying "**_Unnecessarily _**risk your lives…The sooner we get off, the sooner we get back."

The team nodded at this and with a small lurch, the ship landed in the hanger of Zhu's Hope, the small colony that Shepard knew was above the Thorian and his flunkies and mentally prepared himself for the hell he was about to go through.

"Well then Team, move out!"

* * *

Rain: And that ends this chapter. Now before everyone gets pissed at me changing Ashley's past, Let me explain. This is an alternate timeline from Shepard's (Which was canon) and one of the reasons I changed hers was because I want to set up a close friendship to not only Ashley and Tali but between Ashley and Shepard as well and frankly, this is a good way.

And like she said, this will not mean she will be buddy-buddy with all aliens and you guys will see this throughout the story when I set up that mission. Another thing is that I also put up the idea that missions may not turn out the same as they did in canon. Some missions will be the same while others may be different.

Either way, I hope you guys like the changes I will be making so until next time…

Shepard: My name is Commander Rock Shepard and we'll bang later, ok?


	7. Chapter 6

Rain: I'm Rain and thank you all for tuning back. I'm a little bit discourage by just the one review for the last chapter but I won't let it deter me but I do know you guys can do better than that. I want to see your ideas as well as any suggestions and tips so I can have a more engaging story so please don't hold back ok? Now this chapter is the bane of my existence called Feros so sit back, relax and let's go.

Thane: Please, enjoy the show

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Melody of the past_**

**_Chapter Six_**

"Remember Joker, once you rescue those onboard the Titan, returning to the docking bay if you can. This should not take long," Shepard said as his team stood in the de-contamination room, his eyes closed and his arms crossed in thought.

This was it.

This was the start of his redemption as well as a better future for them all.

All he needed to do was try and stay on the right path, to be the hero he failed to be in his timeline and while he knew changes were coming, he had to keep on the straight and narrow. It wasn't going to be easy, nothing was after all. The best thing he could do is save as many people in the colony as he could.

"Gotcha Commander….Alright guy and gals, we have just landed in the hanger of Feros. Please do not come back if shit goes down, thank you all and have a nice day, next up, stopping the Geth attack on Titan!"

Shepard couldn't help but roll his eyes and crack a faint grin at Joker's words as he, Tali and Ashley stepped off the ship and walked onto the balcony of the hanger where they were immediately seen by a colonist of Zhu's hope.

"Another Alliance ship?! So soon?!"The man said as he marched up to Shepard and his squad and when the two met up, the man put his hand out towards Shepard and said "I can't believe our little colony is getting so much help! My name is David al Talaqani and I'm so glad to see you."

Shepard looked at the man's rather shaky hand and shook it briefly before letting the man's voice drown into the background.

From his past experience, the Geth should be here, readying themselves to shoot David into the afterlife but after five minutes of him talking, Shepard realized something was different about this situation.

The first circle around this mission, they had gone to ExoGeni, saved a Doctor who was studying the Thorian creepers, killed one of ExoGeni's representatives who tried screwing them over and finally dealt with the Thorian and its Asari commando clone and that was after going through the Zhu's Hope colonists.

So maybe he should just bypass that altogether and just hit the Thorian itself from the start then take out the Geth…But then he realized he may not even have to take out the Geth due to Garrus, Wrex and Kaidan going near the ExoGeni building to rescue his sister and if she was as skilled as he was, she could possible take charge and lead the three to free it up.

But as David droned on, Shepard then turned to his two companions for this mission.

Ashley looked as if she was going to bash David's head in due to the fact that he kept talking while she wanted to bust some heads but while she looked bored, Tali was paying close attention to what he was saying and considering Shepard heard the words "Geth" and "Death" leave the other man's mouth, he quickly deduced that she wanted to know more about the Geth attack.

But then Shepard paused.

Tali was on her pilgrimage!

And when he was here the first time, they found some information that they were able to use to help her complete it and that came in handy when he came back to life…Perhaps he could radio one of the others and tell them if they were able to find any information cells and bring him all of the results.

Pressing a button on his ear, Shepard turned away from the three and said "Kaidan, this is Shepard, how far are all of you from the Titan?"

* * *

**_Rescue Squad_**

"We aren't far at all Commander, it's a bit dicey though to be honest. There are these large ships that look like bumblebees and they all seem to be converging at this large building," Kaidan told his commander with a small frown on his face. "Joker is barely able to keep hidden in the clouds but I don't know how long that will last."

_"Damn, A Geth Dropship is there…Hm…and a large building…That must be the ExoGeni Headquarters they built here on Feros…"_ Shepard said through his headset, his voice low in thought before asking _"Any sign of the Titan yet?"_

Kaidan, who was walking towards "Joker's Domain" while talking with Shepard stopped behind the pilot and asked "Any sign of the Titan yet, Joker?"

Joker narrowed his eyes in concentration as the Normandy barely avoided trading metal with the Geth and said "No but the SOS is getting stronger. My guess it may be…Wait a second…I'm getting a visual…" Looking up at the large window before them, Kaidan and Joker could see the remains of a large alliance ship embedded on the side of the ExoGeni headquarters.

From the looks of the ship, they were hit by a very large beam that took out half of it, leaving the remaining half of the ship where the cockpit resided inside of the building.

"Man…" Joker whispered out softly. "It'll be a shock if anyone were to survive…What could cause that much damage to the Titan. That ship was built to withstand practically any attack, whether by human or Geth weapons…"

Kaidan gave Joker a harsh look and practically hissed out "Joker! The Commander's sister was the commanding officer of the Titan."

Joker winced.

He will certainly have to apologize to the Commander when this was all over.

"Commander, we have located the Titan. It was practically torn in half by some major firepower," Kaidan said before he narrowed his eyes and noticed that the torn edges of the ship was glowing a bright crimson which startled him. It had taken them a few hours to reach Feros at high speed and this ship looked as if it was just hit.

"And it looks like the Titan was just hit despite us getting the SOS hours ago…" Kaidan told his commander, hoping to get some explanation for this from the man if possible but Shepard was completely quiet, possibly thinking about what kind of firepower could have caused the Titan to be destroyed like this.

_"It…It is certainly strange. Is it in the building enough where you three can board it?" _

Kaidan looked at the ship for a moment and replied "It looks like we'll have to be delicate if we do, half of it is just rocking out of the building…"

_"Alright…Board the remains and see what you can find. And once you do, get inside the building and if you find anything of use, information or otherwise, bring it back undamaged if need be…We will be investigating the colony before we meet up. Be careful and don't do anything reckless…If you guys happen to be done before us, have Joker drop off the Mako on the Skyway that is connected to the Zhu's Hope colony to the ExoGeni Headquarters,"_ Shepard commanded before pausing and saying _"And if you find my sister, alive or otherwise, please let me know immediately…Shepard out."_

"Understood Commander, Alenko out," Kaidan said before disconnecting broadcast to his commander and turning to Joker to relay the orders.

Hopefully everything will be ok with this mission.

* * *

**_Investigation Squad_**

_'Be safe…'_ Shepard thought as he turned towards David, who finally finished his talking and wanted them to meet with his leader, Fai Dan, who was expecting them.

It was then Shepard's eye caught a Geth trooper slowly advancing in the entrance way of the hanger, with its gun on David's back and immediately, Shepard pulled out his pistol and yelled "David, duck!" Seeing David duck, Shepard fired five rounds of armor piercing ammo into the geth trooper, causing it to fall on its knees and to the ground and the moment it did, several more Geth came pouring out of the entrance.

"Take cover!" Shepard commanded as he, Tali, David and Ashley ducked to the nearest crates or walls and began to return fire on the Geth that came running out to slaughter.

After seeing five troopers fall, Shepard quickly leapt over the cover he was behind and ran forward towards the nearest Geth, switching out his pistol for a shotgun, which was already packed with armor piercing rounds and shot at it once when he was at close range, deactivating it completely before smacking the next Geth with said shotgun and fired once into its headlight, shutting it down immediately.

Shepard then noticed three more troopers coming towards him and with a grin; he shot two more times at the oncoming Geth, shutting them down before motioning for his backup to follow him up the stairs where he quickly ran up and that is when he saw the white blur leaping from wall to wall.

"Damn it…Geth Hoppers…Totally forgot about them," He muttered angrily as he switched out his shotgun with his machine gun and aimed it at the white blurs, waiting for them to stop and when they did stop, the four of them began to fire at the two Geth Hoppers as quickly as they could but while they were able to shoot down one of them, the second sprung towards David but Tali was able to shoot it with her shotgun, shooting the geth in the back as it grabbed David, causing David to tilt back on the railing that protected them from falling to the abyss below to avoid its grasp.

Seeing what was about to occur, both Shepard and Ashley reached out to try and stop the Geth's heavy form from leaning into the man's body hard but they failed when they saw the Geth's full weight to press against David's body, causing David to falling backwards around the railing and plummeting down to the abyss below, all while screaming in terror before it swiftly ended with the sound of two bodies slamming into the ground

"Fuck…That is a terrible way to go…" Ashley murmured in annoyance, not wanting that entire thing to go down the way it did but it was Tali who was taking it very hard.

"Oh no…" Tali muttered sadly as the faint sound of two bodies was heard slamming against the ground below. "I-I wasn't…I d-didn't…" She stammered out as in horror as she took a step backward, dropping her shotgun as her hands flew to the front of her mask.

Shepard, seeing Tali on the verge of breakdown due to inadvertently causing the death of an ally walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders and said "Tali, calm down. It will be ok," while looking her dead in the eye.

"B-But I-" Shepard interrupted Tali's words by shaking his head.

"It was an accident…You were trying to protect him. We weren't expecting it to leap at him like that. You did what you were taught to do and that was to kill Geth…" Shepard told her with his eyes focused on hers, which was moving side to side in fear.

"But I-I killed him! He didn't deserve dying like t-that!" She exclaimed angrily and sadly.

Shepard understood the pain she was going through, he honestly did and once this was over, he would share his experience with her to help her through this but for now, there was a mission to be done and he needed her at her best so he did the best thing he could do…

"Tali, if you are going to let this accident shake you up, I don't think you'll be suited to be hunting Saren with us…" Shepard told her while moving away, placing his assault rifle on his back with a frown on his face.

"W-What?! You would send m-me away?!" She asked in shock.

"Yes I would," Shepard replied instantly, his voice coming out harshly, causing her to flinch slightly. "In missions like these, loss of life is inevitable. If you can't handle that, then you are not fit to be in the battlefield."

Tali's eyes narrowed in anger at this as she said "I can handle it. W-What I can't handle is killing an ally in battle like I did."

Shepard looked away and said "Tali, there will be a time where you will have to kill an ally…" At this time, he refused to glance at Ashley nor remember his choices in killing Wrex, Samara or the main choice that will forever haunt him.

Not able to look at Tali, Shepard decided to look up at the sky above them while saying "The best thing you can do is learn from it and try to better yourself so you don't have to make that choice again…"

"And what if you have to? Does it get easier?" Tali asked him softly, the former anger in her voice dying away.

Hearing her ask this caused Shepard to close his eyes as her heartbroken voice floated into his mind, saying _"I loved you,"_ before he turned to her and with a heartbroken tone that surprised both Ashley and Tali, Shepard answered "No…It never does…"

Aware that he had ripped himself open to answer her, Shepard immediately put that shield over his emotions, took a deep breath and said with a hard tone "Now come on, we must meet with Fai Dan and investigate what is going on," before walking past the two, causing both of them to watch his retreating back but while Ashley followed him without missing a bear, Tali remained in surprise and sadness.

In the entire time she had been on his team, she had never heard Shepard's voice like that before it for some strange reason, it made her worry greatly for him.

"Shepard…"

* * *

Rain: And that is where it ends, This chapter was more of an introduction to Shepard's mission and Kaidan's mission as well and it also set up a plot point for a future chapter. Did you guys enjoy this chapter? I certainly hope so. Leave me a review to let me know. Until the next chapter…

Jack: Peace out!


	8. Chapter 7

Rain: and I am back with a brand new chapter. What will happen in this chapter? Well, read and find out now!

Jack: Yeah, you guys better fucking review too!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Melody of the past_**

**_Chapter Seven_**

"It's nice to meet you, crew of the Normandy," Fai Dai said with a small bow to the three Normandy crew members. Battling through the Geth had been tough but Shepard, Ashley and Tali stood before the man, no worse for wear.

"It is nice t-to meet you too, Fai Dan," Tali responded kindly, still a little shook up from the incident with David during their trek up here but she was more worried about Shepard now.

It was the first time in his crew where she saw him so vulnerable and it was because she herself showed him how weak she was by taking David's life. She didn't like seeing him so beaten…So haunted so she realized that she needed to be strong not only for him, but for their entire team and cause as well.

"Now, we came here to help our fellow marines of the Titan out but to also resolve their mission in investigating what exactly is going on in this place," Shepard told him, getting right to the point of their reason of being here.

Fai Dan suddenly got nervous and stuttered out "Listen, we need to clear out the Geth and fix our Colony before anything else could be discussed." Ashley and Tali shared a stare before they turned to Shepard and noticed that his fist was clenched but they then saw him take a very deep breath before exhaling.

"Alright…Tell us what we need to do," Shepard asked with narrowed eyes.

He truly better not regret this.

* * *

**_Rescue Squad_**

_"Alright guys don't be idiots and don't get dead!"_ Kaidan heard Joker say through his intercom as he, Garrus and Wrex stood at the exit of the ship, the wind rushing against them as they looked straight into the hollow, destroyed ship.

"Don't you mean don't get killed?" Garrus asked Joker through his headset, a look of confusion on his face.

The three of them heard Joker laugh and reply _"I was watching this old time movie from like the 90's called Speed. The guy always said "Don't get Dead," in it…And I just ruined the joke."_

Wrex chuckled and cocked his shotgun and said with a low voice "Don't give up your day job, Pilot."

_"Yeah, yeah, everyone's a critic!"_

Kaidan chuckled and took a few steps back before running at full speed towards the opened door of the Normandy and leapt into the destroyed ship known as the Titan and landed on his two feet while pulling out a pistol. Garrus was the next to leap out of the Normandy and into the destroyed ship but then Wrex was next.

With a roar of excitement, Wrex came barreling out of the Normandy and landed hard on the ship, causing it to slowly begin to tip towards Wrex's direction before settling at that tilt. "Alright team, we need to get out of here before this ship falls out the building," Kaidan said while turning his head to glance at the two aliens.

Garrus nodded and pulled out his Sniper rifle while moving ahead to scout the area while Wrex took heavy steps towards Kaidan and said "This place reeks of death and steel. We need to be careful." Kaidan nodded in agreement and together, the group of the walked darkness of the wrecked Titan.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Garrus growled out, nervousness filling his multi-layered voice while steading the gun in his hand, looking around the darkness with narrowed eyes.

"As do I…" Kaidan agreed with a small frown on his face, slowly advancing through but then, a sound of something falling entered their ears, causing all of them to aim in the direction of the sound and after a few seconds of silence, a bird came fluttering out of the ship and into the sky above.

Kaidan let out a sigh of relief and lowered his weapon while relaxing his stance but that immediately changed when the light of a several Geth shined before them, causing the three to duck for cover as shots began to ring out. Kaidan moved up from his hiding spot and repeatedly fired his pistol, nailing two Geth in the head but then had to duck as a rocket came flying towards him.

"Shit," Garrus swore while aiming at a red colored Geth, which had a rocket launcher in hand and fired at it repeatedly before ducking down to avoid gunfire from two more Geth.

Seeing both Kaidan and Garrus pinned down by enemy fire, Wrex returned his shotgun to his back and pulled out a machine gun before leaning up and spraying the Geth that were pinning down Garrus before finishing off the three Geth that were firing down on Kaidan, suffering the loss of his shield as an result.

Being free from the attack, Garrus popped back up and shot a Geth right in its "Eye" causing its head to shatter before leaping over the barricade that was shielding him and shot at the rocket holding Geth, which caused it to stumble backwards but it quickly lifted up its rock launcher towards Garrus' location.

Seeing this, Kaidan used his Biotics to lift up the remains of the Titan's console and slammed it against the chest of the Geth, knocking it off balance. Wrex leapt over the barricade and charged towards the large Geth and took it off its feet with a tackle and slammed it against the floor of the titan hard enough that the Geth's headlight flickered briefly but then Wrex took out a pistol and shot it three times in the headlight, shutting it down for good.

"Man…That was pretty close…" Garrus said while returning his rifle to his back and pulling out a pistol and moving to Kaidan, who he noticed was holding his head in pain. Garrus was a little unsure what to do but then he held out his hand for Kaidan, who saw this gesture and nodded in thanks before grasping his arm, prompting Garrus to lift him up.

"Are you alright Alenko?" Garrus asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'll be fine Vakarian but thanks," Kaidan said with a genuine tone of appreciation towards the Turian. Wrex saw the display and narrowed his eyes in thought but then he turned his head.

"We need to keep moving. I don't smell any life here but I know there are some in this building," Wrex told them while walking forward. Kaidan and Garrus nodded and followed the Krogan while keeping their weapons drawn, not wanting to be caught off guard again.

* * *

**_Investigation Squad_**

"And like that, it's done!" Ashley exclaimed while stepping on the dead Geth beneath her feet.

When they managed to find Zhu's hope, they found Fai Dan who ordered them to clear out the Geth in the area before he could even start to explain the situation. While Tali and Ashley were up for killing more Geth, Shepard was gritting his teeth in annoyance. He already knew what was going on with them.

They were already indoctrinated from the Thorian and while some were already fully taken, he knew Fai Dan wasn't just yet and in order to strike the damn thing early, they needed to convince him to let them into the area where the Thorian would be but how? Doing these menial tasks that his own colony should have done?

He activated the water lines.

Killed all the Geth and Krogan in the area.

Gather food by killing the Varren.

And finally received the power cells to bring back power to their humdrum little colony.

He hadn't done all of this in his time and now he could see why.

They were wasting so much resources in doing this but if this was going to get Fai Dan to let them get into the area where the Thorian lay, he would certainly do it.

"Come on Tali…Ashley…We need to report to Fai Dan," Shepard told them while hiding the annoyance in his voice.

Ashley and Tali nodded and followed their commander to their next location.

**_Zhu's Hope Main Camp_**

"Alright Fai Dan, I have completed all the tasks that was needed to get this place up and running, it is now time we talk about your colonists strange behavior," Ashley said, getting right to the point when she, the Commander and Tali reached the bald Asian man.

Fai Dan looked side to side nervously as he took a step back from the three Normandy members and said "I'm sure it is just s-stress," with a stutter in his voice.

Shepard, already knowing the end result from this and said "Listen Fai Dan…Surely you know something strange is going on with those around you. You see it and you know it to be true so why hide it? We've already helped your colony. Now help us figure out what is truly going on."

Fai Dan lowered his gaze and muttered "I-I don't know if you guys can help…Give me some time to think about it…"

Shepard bared his teeth, finally tired of playing nice and gripped the shirt of Fai Dan's shirt and pulled him close until they were face to face and said "Listen...There is no time to think about it, Either you tell us now or we will find out what this place is hiding and you do not want us to have to look for things…"

He knew he could have just taken them all out and found the Thorian on his own but he'd rather not piss off them enough where the Thorian will sense them and cause them all to attack.

And if they did, he could at least knock them all out beforehand.

Fai Dan stared fearfully into the visor of the angered Shepard and said "I-I need to think about it."

Shepard pushed Fai Dan away and let out an angry scowl and walked off.

If he didn't want to stop what he knew was going on, Shepard will do it his own away.

He just hoped his other team is doing ok.

* * *

**_Rescue Team_**

With a furious shout, Wrex clotheslined a Geth so hard, its head flew off of its body, shutting it down instantly.

Meanwhile, Garrus was using his shotgun to fire against a Geth that had happened to get on top of him before pushing it away, pulling out a pistol and helping Kaidan get rid of the three Geth that were firing on him.

Kaidan closed his left eye and gritted his teeth as he used his biotics to launch several machines at two more Geth, knocking them off their feet where Wrex used his feet and crushed the heads of the two Geth and launched the Geth that was in his hands towards the wall as hard as possible, causing it to crash through the wall and down to the abyss below.

During their trek to find any survivors of the Titan, the squad of three were ambushed by a few Geth but luckily, they were able to defeat them as quickly as possible. Panting, the three of them regrouped and took a small break.

"I have to say, we are pretty much getting our quads handed to us," Wrex growled out, not as exhausted as Garrus or Kaidan but he was getting closer with every firefight they got into.

"And to make it worse, we are still not able to find any survivors of the Titan…" Garrus said as he sat down on a nearby crate while placing his hand on his knee with a small sigh.

Their mission was not getting any better.

It was then when they heard gunfire coming from the distance.

Sharing a glance with each other, the three of them pulled out their respective weapons and together, the three dashed to wear they heard the sound of gunfire but as they got closer, the saw the head of a Geth land right before them, causing them to look down in alarm before looking up and that's when they saw a sight they really weren't ready to see.

Taking on three white Geth was Roll, only wearing a dark blue tank top, pair of baggy black pants with a blue trim on the left side of her pants and a pair of black shoes.

On right hip rested her two pistols, her shotgun rested at the bottom of her back and on her back in a holster was held her sniper rifle. But right now, none of those weapons were being used because it was her sword that were currently in use, stabbing into its headlight, taking it down but she then pulled it out and stabbed another Geth in the chest where she then forced her sword all the way up its body and through its head.

With a shout, she twisted her body and sliced the third Geth's head clean off of its shoulders, causing oil to spurt from its "neck" before it slouched to the ground.

Hearing the nose of four more Geth coming her way, Roll lifted up the blade in her hands and threw it into the headlight of an upcoming Geth, stopping it in its tracks immediately where it then fell on its back.

Seeing a Geth to her left lifting its gun to aim at her, she lifted up a Geth she defeated, stuck a grenade that was on the ground next to her, slammed it into the "eye" of the downed Geth and kicked it towards that Geth just seconds before it exploded, destroying both of the Geth while she stumbled backwards and rolled over a desk and ducked behind it, just in time to avoid being turned into swiss cheese by the Geth's machine guns.

As soon as she heard the fire stop, she stood up and fired at the two Geth repeatedly, nailing them both repeatedly to bullets on their shells before one fell on its knees then on the ground, defeated.

Smirking, Roll then leapt on top of the table and leapt towards the Geth, grabbed it by the top of its head and used all of her weight to put herself on the ground and toss it out of the window, where it plummeted to its demise.

Walking towards the Geth that had her sword impaled in its head, she plucked it from its socket and sheathed it back in its sheath that was on her left hip before taking a breath.

Garrus and Kaidan were in shock.

She had been able to take out a ton of Geth, maybe even more on her own?!

Without armor…Without shields…Nothing?!

Wrex merely laughed and walked past the two stunned allies towards the small human woman, who was trying to recover air and said with an impressed tone in his voice "That was impressive show of power."

Roll, her adrenaline still running through her veins, swiftly whip out her shotgun, turn around and point it at the laughing Wrex with a distrustful look on her face and asked "Who are you?" with a hard edge to her voice.

"Calm yourself female, my allies and myself are here to rescue anyone that was aboard the Titan and seeing as you are human fighting the Geth, I believe you belong to the fallen Titan," Wrex explained, not at all intimidated by the shotgun being pointed at him.

The woman, still distrusting, lowered her shotgun slightly and said "Yeah…I'm the Sole survivor of the Titan…Commander Reiko "Roll" Shepard…And who are you, Krogan?"

The krogan only smirked and looked back at the still surprised Kaidan and Garrus and yelled "Guys, Radio Shepard, we found a survivor and get this, it's his sister!"

Roll was surprised.

This Krogan knew her brother?

A few seconds later, her surprise grew as a turian and another human came running out to the krogan and glance at her at the same time. "Wow, you did good work dispatching those Geth," The turian commented with approval while nodding. "I hadn't seen anything that brutal since Shepard encountered those guys that tried to kill Tali."

Kaidan nodded in agreement but then he said "Shepard will be glad we found you, Commander. He had been worried about you since we received the SOS signal from the Titan." Roll was touched by this but she didn't allow herself to show it and she wouldn't show it until they were in the clear at Zhu's hope because the Geth were still here and she was armor-less and shield-less.

One wrong move and she was as gone as the wind.

"Alright…If you guys are with Rocky, I guess I can trust you…Because all of this is extremely new to me…When my team and I accepted this mission, we weren't expecting Geth nor the Titan being destroyed so please…Clue me in on what the fuck is going on."

But before anyone could say anything, a female voice suddenly rang out from above them, saying "Is it safe now?"

* * *

Rain: And that is where I end it. Fai Dai refused to help Shepard so now he's going to handle the Thorian on his own. Meanwhile, Kaidan and his team managed to find Roll. What will happen next? Find out next time on…**_ Mass Effect: Melody of the past_**

Mario: See you next time


End file.
